Ugh! Poop bacteria in Albert Heijn meat
Albert Heijn is asking people who bought hamburgers, beef birds and beef bratwurst in September not to eat them, but to return them to the store. They have discovered that the meat products contain E. coli, the so-called poop bacteria. Extremely disgusting, and what’s more, people in poor health can become seriously ill from it.
The affected products are burgers and sausages with a use-by date of 24 or 25 September 2020. There’s a good chance that people no longer have them in the fridge, because the meat is already a week and a half past its use-by date. But Albert Heijn says that people may still have them in the freezer. So return them, and the supermarket will refund the purchase price.
Ate it anyway?
What if you simply ate the meat containing E. coli? E. coli is short for Escherichia coli, a bacterium found in the intestines of humans and warm-blooded animals. Under normal circumstances, it does not cause symptoms in people, the RIVM says, but certain variants can cause serious intestinal problems. People in poorer health, older people, pregnant women and children in particular can suffer from such an intestinal infection. Heating renders the poop bacteria harmless.
Hamburger disease
The poop bacteria gets into meat when something goes wrong during slaughter: the intestinal contents of the slaughtered animals then come into contact with the meat. But it can also happen if employees at the meat-processing plant do not wash their hands properly after going to the toilet. Of course, abattoirs must comply with strict regulations, but sometimes things go wrong. E. coli contamination is not common in Europe, but it happens more often in America. There, E. coli contamination is also known as ‘hamburger disease’. People particularly become ill from the poop bacteria in summer because hamburgers and sausages are not cooked through properly on the barbecue.
Which meat?
Fortunately, not all Albert Heijn meat is contaminated with E. coli, but only the mini hamburgers, hamburgers, beef bratwurst, hamburgers and beef birds with a use-by date of 24 or 25 September. The Albert Heijn website specifies exactly which meat is involved.
