USDA Announce Recall of Some Ground Beef Over E. Coli Concerns

January 3rd, 4:00 PM EST

By Paula Wethington

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a recall of about 6,700 pounds of raw ground beef products that may be contaminated by E. coli.

The notice is for raw ground beef items produced Dec. 22 by Valley Meats of Coal Valley, Ill., and shipped to distributors in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Michigan for further distribution to restaurants and institutional customers.

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service said it is possible that some of this ground beef may be in refrigerators or freezers; and that the meat should be thrown out or returned to the place of purchase.

E. coli bacterium can result in dehydration, diarrhea and abdominal cramps anywhere from two to eight days after exposure, the USDA said. Most people recover within a week, but there can be serious complications.

“The problem was discovered when the establishment notified FSIS (USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service) that samples of ground beef products submitted to a third-party laboratory for microbiological analysis tested positive for E. coli O157:H7,” the notice said. “There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.”

For a list of markings, labels and packaging included in this recall, go to https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls.

In the meantime, the USDA recommends safe preparation techniques for fresh or frozen raw meat products and only consume ground beef that has been cooked to a temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

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