OMAHA, Nov. 3 (UPI) — A meat company based out of Omaha, Neb., is recalling 167,427 pounds of beef after a sample tested positive for E. coli bacteria.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced the recall Sunday, saying the items were produced on Oct. 16 by All American Meats, Inc. with a sell-by date of Nov. 3.
“The products subject to recall bear establishment number ‘EST. 20420’ inside the USDA mark of inspection,” a USDA statement reads. “These items were shipped to retail locations nationwide.”
The statement goes on to say the issue was revealed on Oct. 30 but adds there have been “no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.”
“FSIS and the company are concerned that some product may be frozen and in consumers’ freezers,” the statement reads. “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.”
ABC News quoted Brian Brislen, an attorney representing All American Meats, Inc., as saying the company is complying with the USDA.
“Our focus at this time is to cooperate fully with the recall protocol,” Brislen told ABC. “Everything produced that day was recalled as a precaution.”
According to the USDA, E. coli is “a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps” within two to eight days of exposure. While most people recover within a week, the elderly and children under 5-years-old are at a higher risk for developing hemolytic uremic syndrome, which is a type of kidney failure that is often indicated by easy bruising, decreased urination and a deficiency of color in the skin.
The FSIS advises consumers eat beef products only after cooking them at a temperature of 160 degrees fahrenheit.
The beef recall comes as Chipotle closed 43 restaurants in Washington state and Oregon after dozens of customers fell ill from E. coli exposure.
