The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a public health alert last weekend over ground beef products recently shipped to food retailers that may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria. Indeed ground beef recalls are disrupting the food industry as products are being pulled off of shelves.
The potentially contaminated raw ground beef was produced on March 28, 2024, and has a packaging date of “03/28/24” and a use-by date of April 22, 2024. The beef can also be identified via its establishment number “EST. 960A.”
The recall has been removed recently because the items are no longer for sale. The FSIS warns anyone who purchased this ground beef to throw the items away.
Hannaford Supermarkets announced Tuesday it has recalled its store-brand 85% ground beef items at many of its locations.
Ground Beef Recalls Still Limited in Scope
Greater Omaha Packing Co. discovered the ground beef contamination as it conducted an inventory of its product. Apparently, while attempting to evaluate beef on hold for being positive for E. coli, the company “inadvertently used a portion of the contaminated beef to produce ground beef products that they subsequently shipped into commerce.”
So far there haven’t been any confirmed reports of sickness stemming from consumption of the contaminated beef.
E. coli, or Escherichia coli, is a common bacteria. While most strains of E. coli are harmless, others can make people quite sick.
Symptoms of E. coli vary for each person but often include severe stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea and vomiting, urinary tract infections, respiratory illness, pneumonia, and/or a mild fever. Most people recover from E. coli within about a week.
Interestingly, beef isn’t the only food item recently recalled. On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that more than 2,000 cases of Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil have been recalled because its glass packaging may be liable to break.
On the date of publication, Shrey Dua did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
