WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 4, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — More than six tons of ground beef from an Arizona distributor is being recalled for possible contamination with salmonella, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Tuesday.
The raw, non-intact beef items, including ground beef, were packaged on various dates from July 26, 2018 to Sept. 7, 2018, and were distributed to retail sellers and institutions nationwide. FSIS official fear that the meat in question could still be in home consumer or institutional freezers.
The 12,093,271 pounds of meat is from JBS Tolleson, Inc., of Tolleson, Ariz. To see the products list, click here. To see the product labels, click here. The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 267” inside the USDA mark of inspection.
“After FSIS Recall 085-2018 on October 4, 2018, FSIS, CDC, and state public health and agriculture partners continued to investigate the outbreak of Salmonella Newport illnesses,” a FSIS statement says.
“The epidemiological investigation has identified 246 confirmed case-patients from 26 states with illness onset dates ranging from July 26 to Sept. 7, 2018. An additional 16 case-patients have provided receipts or shopper card numbers for the product traceback investigations. Specific traceback for three case-patients have identified JBS Tolleson, Inc., EST. 267 ground beef products that were not part of the Oct. 4, 2018 recall. FSIS will continue to work with public health partners and provide updated information should it become available.”
Consumption of food contaminated with salmonella can cause salmonellosis, one of the most common bacterial foodborne illnesses. The most common symptoms of salmonellosis are diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever within 12 to 72 hours after eating the contaminated product. The illness usually lasts four to seven days. Most people recover without treatment. In some persons, however, the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized.
Older adults, infants, and persons with weakened immune systems are more likely to develop a severe illness. Individuals concerned about an illness should contact their health care provider.
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.
FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers.
FSIS advises all consumers to safely prepare their raw meat products, including fresh and frozen, and only consume ground beef that has been cooked to a temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Other cuts of beef should be cooked to a temperature of 145 degrees and allowed to rest for at least three minutes.
The only way to confirm that ground beef or other cuts of beef are cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria is to use a food thermometer that measures internal temperature, http://1.usa.gov/1cDxcDQ.
