The second week in August, the United States Department of Agriculture and National Beef Packing Co. LLC, a Dodge City, Kan., announced the recall of 60,424 pounds of ground beef products that may be adulterated with E. coli O157:H7. The problem was discovered as a result of routine microbial testing conducted by the Ohio Department of Agriculture at a state-inspected facility that had purchased these products for further processing.
E. coli O157:H7 causes a diarrheal illness, often with bloody stools. There are cases of this illness that have become fatal. So seek immediate medical attention.
The products subject to recall include:
Ground beef chubs produced on July 23, 2011 with a Freeze by Date of August 12, 2011:
- Boxes containing six 10-pound chubs of “National Beef 80/20 Fine Ground Chuck.” These can be identified by the product code 483.
- Boxes containing eight 5-pound chubs of “National Beef 80/20 Fine Ground Chuck.” These can be identified by the product code 684.
- Boxes containing twelve 3-pound chubs of “National Beef 80/20 Fine Ground Chuck.” These can be identified by the product code 782 or 785.
- Boxes containing six 10-pound chubs of “National Beef 80/20 Fine Ground Chuck.” These can be identified by the product code 787.
Ground beef chubs produced on July 25, 2011 with a Freeze by Date of August 14, 2011:
- Boxes containing eight 10-pound chubs of “National Beef 81/19 Fine Ground Beef.” These can be identified by the product code 431.
- Boxes containing eight 10-pound chubs of “National Beef 90/10 Fine Ground Beef.” These can be identified by the product code 471.
- Boxes containing six 10-pound chubs of “National Beef 86/14 Fine Ground Round.” These can be identified by the product code 494.
Consumers with questions about this recall should contact National Beef’s consumer relations toll free telephone number at (816) 713-8631.
If you suffer from food poisoning, you need to get immediate medical care. If it continues or there are long term affects, you should contact an attorney concerning the problem. Early investigation can include the collection of samples, checking for health alerts, and the proper notifying of those who caused the problem.
