According to a notice issued Wednesday by the United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service, Cargill Meat Solutions, a division of business giant Cargill, is recalling approximately 132,606 pounds of ground beef products made from the chuck portion of carcasses that may be contaminated with E. coli, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, or FSIS, said in a statement.
Officials said the ground beef was produced and packaged on June 21, 2018, and affects 12 different Cargill products. The full list of products can be found here.
The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 86R” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to retail locations nationwide.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday that this E. coli outbreak that has killed one person and sickened 17 others.
The federal government says it believes that exposing meat to radiation is a safe and effective way to kill E. coli and other pathogens. But meat companies have been hesitant to use irradiation because of fears that it would make meat more expensive, change the taste and color, and provoke consumer opposition.
Escherichia coli bacteria are commonly found in the lower digestive tract of humans and animals, and they are usually harmless. But one strain, E. coli 0157:H7, produces a toxin that can make people sick, typically after eating ground beef or produce that has been contaminated by cattle feces.
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service “is concerned that some product may be frozen and in consumers’ freezers. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” said the recall announcement
Publix Super Markets recalled an “undetermined amount” of possibly contaminated beef on Aug. 30 after 18 people were reportedly sickened.