The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a “public health alert” over the weekend for ground beef products sold across the United States that may be contaminated with a “potentially deadly” strain of the E. coli bacteria.
No recalls have been initiated because the items are no longer available for purchase, the USDA notice said. However, anyone who has the products should not eat or serve them, and they should be thrown out or returned to their location of purchase, it added.
The potential E. coli contamination was found by the establishment, Greater Omaha Packing Co., while “conducting an inventory of product that was on hold because it was found positive for” the bacteria. The firm notified the USDA that it “inadvertently used a portion of the contaminated beef to produce ground beef products that they subsequently shipped into commerce,” according to the agency.
So far, no reports of illnesses have been reported due to the consumption of the products, the agency said. People who are concerned that they may have contracted an illness from the beef should contact a health care provider, it added.
Symptoms
Escherichia coli, most commonly known as E. coli, is found in foods, the environment, and the stomachs of people and animals, health officials say. Most strains of the bacteria are harmless, while some can cause urinary tract infections, diarrhea, pneumonia, respiratory illnesses, and other symptoms.
Symptoms can include stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and sometimes fever. Some infections are considered very mild, but health officials say that others can face life-threatening illness.
Notably, the agency said that the strain found is E. coli O157:H7, which it described as a “potentially deadly bacterium that can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea, and abdominal cramps” between two and eight days after exposure to the bacteria.
Most people recover in about a week, although some people can develop kidney failure known as hemolytic uremic syndrome. It’s most common among children under age 5 and older adults.
Other Alerts
Last week, two products with the herb basil were recalled due to the potential risk of being contaminated with salmonella, another bacteria that can cause stomach distress and other symptoms, according to notices posted on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website.Infinite Herbs said it would be expanding its recall to include Melissa’s brand fresh organic basil because it has “the potential to be contaminated with salmonella, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.”
The same company, in another notice, said it is recalling its Infinite Herbs fresh organic basil. UPC codes and other details about the two products can be found on the FDA’s website.
