Update: This outbreak is rapidly spreading. Cases have more than doubled (72 to 156) since the outbreak was initially reported.
A total of 156 people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O103 have been reported from 10 states – Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida, according to the CDC.
One company has issued a recall.
From K2D Foods Recalls Raw Ground Beef Products Due to Possible E. coli O103 Contamination:
K2D Foods, doing business as (DBA) Colorado Premium Foods, a Carrolton, Ga. establishment, is recalling approximately 113,424 pounds of raw ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O103, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.
The raw ground beef items were produced on March 26, March 29, April 2, April 5, April 10, and April 12, 2019. The following products are subject to recall: [View Labels (PDF only)]
Two 24-lb. vacuum-packed packages in cardboard boxes containing raw “GROUND BEEF PUCK” with “Use Thru” dates of 4/14/19, 4/17/19, 4/20/19, 4/23/19, 4/28/19, and 4/30/19.
The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 51308” inside the USDA mark of inspection on the boxes. These items were shipped to distributors in Ft. Orange, Fla. and Norcross, Ga. for further distribution to restaurants.
FSIS and its public health partners, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Tennessee Department of Health, have been investigating an outbreak of E. coli O103. Unopened, intact ground beef collected as part of the ongoing investigation from a restaurant location, where multiple case-patients reported dining, tested positive for E. coli O103. At this time, there is no definitive link between this positive product and the ongoing E. coli O103 outbreak. Further traceback and product analysis continues to determine if the recalled products are related to the E. coli O103 outbreak. (source)
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If you have any ground beef in your refrigerator or freezer, there are three serious alerts you need to know about.
The first is an expanding E. coli outbreak.
Here’s an overview from Food Safety News:
Ground beef, consumed at home or in restaurants, and possibly purchased in large packages from grocery stores just might be the source of the now six-state E. coli O103 outbreak, according to CDC.
In an update of its last report just three days earlier, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta shared its preliminary epidemiologic information that implicates ground beef for infecting at least 109 people. (source)
So far, seventeen people have been hospitalized, reports the CDC. No cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (a type of kidney failure) have been reported, and no deaths have been reported.
Officials still don’t know the exact source of the tainted meat.
Traceback investigations are being conducted to determine the source of ground beef supplied to grocery stores and restaurant locations where infected people ate. Currently, no common supplier, distributor, or brand of ground beef has been identified.
As of April 12, cases have been reported in Indiana, Georgia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia.
CDC is not recommending that consumers avoid eating ground beef at this time. Consumers and restaurants should handle ground beef safely and cook it thoroughly to avoid foodborne illness.
At this time, CDC is not recommending that retailers stop serving or selling ground beef. (source)
For guidelines on how to safely handle and cook raw beef, please see the CDC’s instructions here: Outbreak of E. coli Infections.
Symptoms of E. coli O103 include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody), and vomiting, and usually lasts 5-7 days. Some people who are infected also develop a fever. People usually get sick from Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) 3–4 days after drinking or eating something that contains the bacteria, but illness can start anywhere from 1 to 10 days after infection. Some people with a STEC infection may get a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome.
The CDC referred to the outbreak as a “rapidly evolving investigation”. We will update this article with new information as it is made available.
In an unrelated outbreak that was announced at the end of March, Aurora Packing Company, Inc. recalled approximately 4,838 pounds of beef heel and chuck tender products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.
Two companies have recalled beef products for possible plastic contamination.
Earlier this month, AdvancePierre Foods recalled more than 20,000 pounds of frozen beef patties for possible plastic contamination:
AdvancePierre Foods is voluntarily recalling 20,373 pounds of Tenderbroil Patties CN Fully Cooked Flamebroiled Beef Patties. The recall is limited to food service customers, and affected products are not available for purchase in retail stores. No other AdvancePierre Foods products are affected.
Two consumers reported they found pieces of soft purple plastic in the product. Even though these reports involved only two items, out of an abundance of caution, the company is recalling 1,449 cases of product. AdvancePierre Foods has received no reports of injuries or illnesses associated with the affected product.
The product was produced at one plant location on November 30, 2018. Each 14.06-pound case contains three bags with 30 pieces each, and bears the establishment code 2260E, a date code of EN83340303 and case code 155-525-0.
This product was sent to distribution centers in the following states: Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. (source)
Last week, JBS Plainwell, Inc. recalled a series of ground beef products for possible green hard plastic contamination, reports International Business Times:
The recall includes approximately 43,292 pounds of ground beef that were produced on March 2, 2019. The affected beef has an establishment number of EST. 562M inside the USDA mark of inspection or printed on the bottom of the package label. The contaminated ground beef was shipped to retail locations throughout Michigan and Wisconsin. (source)
The recalled beef includes:
- 1-pound plastic wrapped ground beef loaves labeled as fresh from Meijer GROUND BEEF 80% LEAN 20% FAT. It has a case code of 47283 and a sell by date of 4/10/2019 located on the label.
- 1-pound plastic wrapped ground beef loaves labeled as fresh from Meijer GROUND BEEF 85% LEAN 15% FAT. It has a case code of 47285 and a sell by date of 4/10/2019 located on the label.
- 1-pound plastic wrapped ground beef loaves labeled as fresh from Meijer GROUND BEEF 90% LEAN 10% FAT. It has a case code of 47290 and a sell by date of 4/10/2019 located on the label.
- 1-pound plastic wrapped ground beef loaves labeled as LEAN GROUND BEEF. It has a case code of 42093 and a sell by date of 4/10/2019 located on the label.
- 1-pound plastic wrapped ground beef loaves labeled as CERTIFIED GROUND SIRLOIN. It has a case code of 42090 and a sell by date of 4/10/2019 located on the label.
- 1-pound plastic wrapped ground beef loaves labeled as CERTIFED GROUND ROUND. It has a case code of 42085 and a sell by date of 4/10/2019 located on the label.
- 1-pound plastic wrapped ground beef loaves labeled as Fresh! BLACK ANGUS GROUND CHUCK. It has a case code of 42283 and a sell by date of 4/10/2019 located on the label.
- 1-pound plastic wrapped ground beef loaves labeled as CERTIFIED GROUND CHUCK. It has a case code of 81631 and a sell by date of 4/10/2019 located on the label.
- 1-pound plastic wrapped ground beef loaves labeled as GROUND BEEF. It has a case code of 81629 and a sell by date of 4/10/2019 located on the label.
Consumers are urged to check their freezers for the recalled ground beef. It should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase. It should not be consumed.
One company has issued a recall for meat that was not inspected.
Last Friday, Denver Processing LLC recalled approximately 13,865 pounds of raw pork and beef products that were produced without the benefit of federal inspection and outside inspection hours, reports Food Safety News:
The recalled products bear the establishment number “EST. 6250” within the USDA mark of inspection on the case label and directly outside of the USDA mark of inspection on the product label. These items were shipped to retail locations in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. (source)
For a full list of products Denver Processing is recalling, please click here: Denver Processing recalls port and beef that went without inspection
What do you think?
Will you be checking your freezer for these products? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
About the Author
Dagny Taggart is the pseudonym of an experienced journalist who needs to maintain anonymity to keep her job in the public eye. Dagny is non-partisan and aims to expose the half-truths, misrepresentations, and blatant lies of the MSM.
We have venison in our freezer so no worries here, thankfully. Passing this on to share the word though thank you.
As Drumpf spends all his time and money proppping up a foreign govt in the middle east, whose lobbyists bailed out his casino bankruptcies and now demand payback? Another trillion+ soo to attack Iran and our FOOD INFRASTRUCTURE is in total collapse. As these near daily ‘recalls’ expand? So too will be our health system when masses of sickened people overload hospitals to triage from such food-born illnesses.
Daisy,
Can you do something about the spam on here? Crap like this comment above will kill your web site quickly.
No, actually I don’t agree with censorship. You need a little salt to keep the sugar going.
NWV once did this because one of the woman writers complained about another writer just because he constantly criticized her beloved Israel and demanded he is kicked off. Well, they did kick him off. He never convinced me but more or less amused me. I did not find him offensive.
It was written intelligently but like I said, as long as you got your head right you’ll see through anything if it’s wrong or BS.
Anyway, I think most of us are mature enough about what is going on and can determine when something is going overboard. We cannot get emotional.
Besides, a little peek from the other side reminds you to keep the rearview mirror open.
I love how Trump is to blame for everything that happens in the Federal Government. Do you know how big and expansive it is? Write your Congresscritter and get them off their butts. Maybe if they quit spending all of their time trying to trip Trump up – we could get some work done on upgrading the FDA and cleaning up the immigration laws so that new immigrants don’t get dumped in the middle of the night on some strange street.
If he’s not against it, he’s for it.
So where does that E. Coli come from? Why it comes from infected illegals working in those plants where the beef comes from.
I really, really need to buy a meat grinder and grind my own beef. This is ridiculous!
How do we know it’s not sabotaged? Or hiring uneducated illegal immigrants causing all of this? The Army must get ground beef from certain manufacturers. This could be a danger to our soldiers also and not only the general public.
I won’t be checking my freezer because I am fortunate enough to have local organic suppliers of meat whom I trust. I feel sorry for people who don’t have this option.
Interesting string of events. Sadly, we buy ground beef in 4 – 10 lb packages then repackage it as 1 lb units. So, the original wrapper gets thrown away. Guess I better change my methods.
Soooo not to sound like an idiot but what the heck do they mean by “loaves”? Does that mean those (I would call) tubes like sausage comes in? I’m not in the impacted areas and buy my meat from a local farm but I work with alot of people who must resort to buying tubes of low quality meat. Thanks!
The real problem is the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. There are too few inspectors and it is designed that way to hid unsanitary conditions at meat processors. Chicken is sprayed with chlorine to kill the feces. On and on. The two options are: 1) Grind your own organic burger and buy organic or trusted chicken processors. 2) Eat organic meat from processors that have a safe record. Safe food choices are getting harder and harder to find. Support organic growers. They have a vested interest in wholesome safe foods. I grow what I can.
I am a retired U.S. Army Veterinary Food Inspector. Spot checking is all my counter part in USDA do. I am glad I have a trusted butcher that processes the cows and goats I bring to him. He is a small business owner and is dedicated to keeping things clean and safe. The only time I get food poisoning is when I on occasion (rarely) eat out. That is why I keep charcoal capsules in my car.
They do know the source. But never let a good crisis go to waste. Make the population afraid and willing to throw away their expensive meats. Just cook it, if you’re concerned.
Always remember that government doesn’t care about your health and welfare.