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More Retail & Wholesale Beef Recalls

Meat from Illinois, Georgia plants may be contaminated with E. coli

By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com

October 13, 2007     Spanish

Food Safety • At Least 2 Deaths Reported in Massive E.Coli Ground Beef Recall • Food Toxin Linked To Liver Cancer • Senate Urged To Pass Food Safety Modernization Act • Consumers Have Little Trust That Food They Buy is Safe and Healthy • Consumers Union Opposes USDA Proposal On Salad Safety • New Food Registry Enables Quick Reporting of Dangerous Products • Nothing Simple about Food Dating, Expiration Dates or 'Use-By' Dates • Feds Announce New Food Safety Strategies • House Passes Food Safety Bill • Feds Seize Kentucky Livestock Kept In "Filthy Conditions" • FDA Tries To Improve Egg Safety • Tainted Dry Milk Recall Continues To Grow • Salmonella Scare Prompts Dairy Recall • Most Consumers Lack Confidence In Food Safety, Survey Says • House Committee Unanimously Passes Food Safety Bill • Food Safety Bill Aired In House • House Committee Moves Forward On Food Safety Legislation • Illinois Meat Packer Recalls 95,898 Pounds Of Beef • Alfalfa Sprouts Linked to Salmonella • Food Safety Results Level Off • Sprouts Recalled Due To Possible Listeria • FDA Warns About Listeria in Salmon • Food Industry Accused of Big Tobacco's Bad Habits • FDA Closes Tortilla Plant • Surface Water May Be Source Of Salmonella • Key Senator Blasts FDA Over Food Safety > • FDA Rolls Out Food Safety Plan • Brits Get Treats, Yanks Get Tricks From Food Companies • Hartz Recalls Rawhide Chips After Possible Salmonella Contamination • Vermont Firm Recalls Possibly-Tainted Ground Beef • Beef Sent to Puerto Rico May Be Contaminated with E. coli • Technology Offers Revolution in Food Safety Testing • Chinese Gorillas Fall Ill as Melamine Scandal Widens • Alfalfa Sprouts Recalled in Salmonella Outbreak • CDC Gives "All Clear" On Salmonella Outbreak • One Death Reported in Oklahoma E. coli Outbreak • Feds Approve Irradiation of Spinach, Lettuce • FDA Issues Warning About Frozen Seafood • Whole Foods Extends Beef Recall • Whole Foods Recalls Fresh Ground Beef • Six New E. coli Cases Reported In Massachusetts --- • More ...

In the latest ground beef recalls, J & B Meats Corporation of Coal Valley, Ill., is voluntarily recalling approximately 173,554 pounds of frozen ground beef products, and Arko Veal Co. of Forest Park, Ga., is recalling about 1,900 pounds of ground beef products.

Like other beef products recalled recently, the latest batches may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service warned.

The J&B recall includes:

• 2-pound boxes of "TOPPS PREMIUM 100% PURE SIRLOIN BEEF SIRLOIN STEAK BURGERS, 6 1/3 LB. HOMESTYLE BURGERS." Each box bears a use by date of "06/22/08."
• 8-pound boxes of "TOPPS 100% PURE GROUND BEEF HAMBURGERS, 32 QUARTER POUNDERS." Each box bears a use by date of "06/12/08," "06/18/08" or "06/22/08."
• 3-pound bags of "SAM'S CHOICE BACKYARD GOURMET BEEF BURGERS, 80/20, 12 QUARTER POUND ROUND PATTIES." Each bag bears a use by date of "03/08/08."
• 3-pound boxes of "TOPPS 100% PURE GROUND BEEF HAMBURGERS, 12 QUARTER POUNDERS." Each box bears a use by date of "06/18/08."

Each package also bears the establishment number "Est. 5712." The frozen ground beef products were produced on June 12, June 18 and June 22, 2007, and were distributed to retail establishments nationwide.

For best quality, FSIS recommends consumers use any frozen ground beef products within three to four months of the stated use by date. It is important that consumers look for the recalled products and return them if found in their freezers.

Arko

The Arko recall includes:

• 50-pound cases of "BEEF PATTIES MIX," "80/20." Each case bears the establishment number "Est. 20766" inside the USDA mark of inspection and a product code of "502250."

Each case bears a production date of "07-Oct-07," "08-Oct-07" or "09-Oct-07."

The Arko beef products were produced between Oct. 7 and Oct. 9, 2007, and were distributed to restaurants in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. There was no retail distribution of these products.

E. coli

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. The very young, seniors and persons with compromised immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness.

Consumers should only eat ground beef patties that have been cooked to a safe temperature of 160 °F. When a ground beef patty is cooked to 160 °F throughout, it can be safe and juicy, regardless of color.

The only way to be sure a ground beef patty is cooked to a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria is to use an accurate food thermometer.

Color is not a reliable indicator that ground beef patties have been cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7.

Eating a pink or red ground beef patty without first verifying that the safe temperature of 160 °F has been reached is a significant risk factor for foodborne illness.

Thermometer use to ensure proper cooking temperature is especially important for those who cook or serve ground beef patties to people most at risk for foodborne illness because E. coli O157:H7 can lead to serious illness or even death. Those most at risk include young children, seniors, and those with compromised immune systems.

Earlier recalls

On Oct. 11, Cargill, one of the largest U.S. food producers, recalled 840,000 pounds of ground beef.

In September, Topps Meat Co. recalled 22 million pounds of frozen hamburger patties. The huge recall resulted in the company closing its doors after 67 years.

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