According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a Kansas company has issued a recall of 50,000 pounds of beef due to a possible E.coli contamination.
Originally sold by the National Beef Packing Company, the USDA said Wednesday that routine monitoring had confirmed the presence of E.coli O157:H7.
The products were produced on July 18 and shipped in 40-pounds to 60 pound cases to retailers, wholesalers, and food service distributors nationwide. In a statement the company said the meat has a use by/freeze by date of Aug. 7.
According to the United International Press, the products have the USDA mark of inspection under establishment number "EST. 208A."
"We are working closely with authorities to investigate this matter and are contacting our customers who have purchased this product," the company said in a statement.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service discovered the possible E.coli threat during a routine inspection. The recall is voluntary and there have been no reports of illness. The young, elderly and people with weak immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illnesses. USDA data for the week ending July 27 showed the industry produced 508 million pounds of beef and 14.5 million pounds year to date.
E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacteria that can cause diarrhea, dehydration, and in some cases, kidney failure. It is considered an adulterant in raw beef.
National Beef recalled 22,737 pounds of raw ground beef on June 18, also due to possible contamination with E. coli O157:H7. Approximately 76,000 people are infected with E. coli every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to the Christian Science Monitor here's a list of the specific products involved in the beef recall:
80 percent lean/20 percent fat fine ground chuck
85/15 fine ground beef
90/10 fine ground beef or sirloin
93/7 fine ground beef
Customers who think they might have purchased products affected by the beef recall should take the product back to the retailer, says Keith Welty spokesman for National Beef packing.
