Jensen Farms to Settle Listeria Cases, Meat Glue Declared as Safe

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Remember Jensen Farms, the grower whose cantaloupes caused last year's multi-state Listeria outbreak that killed 36 people and sickened 146 others? The company has made it known that it is going to settle the cases ranged against it since the outbreak, the country’s worst in a century as far as fatalities are concerned.

Listeria contamination can start anywhere in the food chain and proper food and food-product handling is essential in preventing the pathogen from taking hold. As hedge against food-borne illnesses, including listeriosis, many restaurant owners now require a food handler certification or a food safety certification as a hiring requisite. Unfortunately, weak links still remain in the human food-supply chain.

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According to foodsafetynews.com, Jensen Farms has already filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and it is opting for settlements with the 39 plaintiffs, all represented by prominent food-safety attorney Bill Marler, the publisher of foodsafetynews.com. Meanwhile, Jensen’s attorney, Jim Markus, confirmed to Denver Post that they are close to finalizing the settlements.

Jensen has proffered $4 million in settlement money to the victims, half of the amount coming from the company’s insurance, the other half from the insurers of the equipment company that earlier had been reported in the media to have supplied Jensen with used equipment, and of Primus Labs, the safety auditor whose purported failure to identify contamination issues at the facility ultimately caused the outbreak.

Although the Jensen Farms Listeria outbreak officially lasted three months until October 2011, its after effects lasted longer. Months after the last case was reported, two more victims died of Listeria complications related to the outbreak.

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Recently sharing headlines with Listeria is "meat glue," which, unbeknownst to most, has been part of the dining experience for quite a while now, the discreet but ubiquitous meat addend that binds such innocent delectables as two large beef tenderloins together. If you’ve had your steak in a hotel, a casino, or a catered event, you’ve probably had meat glue to go with the main dish—and enjoyed it.

Like pink slime, which unfairly suffered and eventually succumbed to bad press, meat glue is not a diner’s favorite ingredient because it does not seem “natural.” It is made up of transglutaminase (TG) and beef fibrin, which are enzymes that have the ability to glue proteins—as well as meat—together. These ingredients are also used in baked goods, yogurt, and seafood.

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Tellingly, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has confirmed that both ingredients as "generally recognized as safe," GRAS in industry parlance.

Dana Hanson, a meat scientist at North Carolina State University, noted the possibility that different cuts put together could be more susceptible to contamination by potentially introducing pathogens where the steak pieces are joined. Still, Hanson was quick to point out that federal cooking recommendations would be sufficient to eradicate any pathogens.

"We find that the safety of this product is very acceptable," he reiterated.