USDA Issues health alert for possibly tainted meat

by STAFF REPORT
Staff Report | April 27, 2022 4:46 PM

WAHSINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service on Wednesday issued a health warning for ground beef produced by JBS Foods subsidiary Empire Packing and sold in Washington and Oregon in December 2021 after some of the meat tested positive for E. coli O26.

The ground beef was produced on December 16 and 17, distributed to warehouses in Washington and Oregon, and then sold at retail outlets in both states under several different brand names, according to an FSIS press release:

1-lb. foam trays containing “ALL NATURAL LAURA’S LEAN BEEF 92% LEAN 8% FAT GROUND BEEF.” The product is labeled with 350/(timestamp)/Est.31805/002, with the timestamp ranging from 0602 to 1721.

1-lb. foam trays containing “Kroger GROUND BEEF CARNE MOLIDA 96% LEAN 4% FAT.” The product is labeled with 350/(timestamp)/Est.31805/002, with the timestamp ranging from 0602 to 1721.

1-lb. foam trays containing “Kroger GROUND BEEF CARNE MOLIDA 85% LEAN 15% FAT.” The product is labeled with 350/(timestamp)/Est.31805/002, with the timestamp ranging from 0602 to 1721.

1.3-lb. foam trays containing “PRIVATE SELECTION ANGUS BEEF 90% LEAN 10% FAT GROUND SIRLOIN.” The product is labeled with 350/(timestamp)/Est.31805/002, with the timestamp ranging from 0602 to 1721. Additional product is labeled with 351/(timestamp)/Est. 31805/003, with the timestamp ranging from 1549 to 1651.

1-lb. foam trays containing “Kroger GROUND BEEF CARNE MOLIDA 93% LEAN 7% FAT.” The product is labeled with 350/(timestamp)/Est.31805/002, with the timestamp ranging from 0602 to 1721.

1-lb. foam trays containing “Kroger GROUND BEEF CARNE MOLIDA 80% LEAN 20% FAT.” The product is labeled with 350/(timestamp)/Est.31805/002, with the timestamp ranging from 0602 to 1721.

FSIS advises anyone with these products in their freezers to throw them out and not consume them.

According to the press release, the problem was discovered after a consumer submitted a package of ground beef from Empire Packing bearing a use or freeze-by date of “December 24, 2021” to a third-party lab for testing, which found the sample contained E. coli O26.

E. coli O26 is harder to identify than E. coli O157:H7, FSIS said, so most labs do not test for that particular strain. All strains of E. coli can cause diarrhea and vomiting, with most infected people recovering within a week, the FSIS said, and anyone concerned about injury or illness should contact their healthcare provider.

Consumers with food safety questions can contact FSIS directly on its hotline at 888-674-6854.