Washington - A Kentucky meat processing company is recalling 120 pounds (54 kg) of ground beef after U.S. Agriculture Department tests found traces of a deadly form of E.coli bacteria in meat made in the same batch.
Hampton Meat Processing Co of Hopkinsville is recalling the meat sold to local customers on August 5. Other beef sold the same day to wholesale buyers has been recovered, the USDA said.
No illnesses have been reported in connection with the beef, a department spokeswoman said.
The recall is tiny compared to last summer's record 25 million-pound (11,000-tonne) ground beef recall by Hudson Foods Co., which also discovered E.coli 0157:H7 in its beef.
E.coli 0157:H7 bacteria can cause bloody diarrhea and kidney failure and is especially dangerous for the elderly, small children and people with weakened immune systems.
Federal health officials have estimated that 10,000 to 20,000 cases of E.coli 0157:H7 infections occur in the United States every year.
Agriculture Department inspectors routinely test ground beef for bacteria. This is the 19th time E.coli 0157:H7 has been found in ground beef out of nearly 23,000 samples that have been taken since October 1994, the department spokeswoman said.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
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