The investigation of tainted hamburger in Washington state will help prevent future deadly food poisoning outbreaks because it identified the most likely sites for meat contamination, federal officials say.
Jill Hollingsworth, assistant administrator of the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service, offered that assessment Thursday as the agency released an update on its joint investigation with the Centers for Disease Control.The information will help prevent future outbreaks by helping identify "significant control points" in meat handling where bacterial contamination is most likely, Hollingsworth said.
She also said investigators can use that information even though they are unlikely to trace the deadly E. coli outbreak in Washington state beyond hamburger from a Los Angeles packing plant.
Federal investigators "agree that it is highly unlikely we will ever identify a specific herd or slaughter house that was the source of the specific strain of bacteria that caused the outbreak," the report said.
At least two children died and nearly 500 other people, mostly children, became ill from hamburgers served at Jack in the Box restaurants in January, mostly in Washington state.