Washington - A Georgia processing company said it is asking customers to return 22,880 pounds of beef steak after traces of salmonella were found in vending machine sandwiches made with the meat.
No illnesses have been reported from eating the beef steak and none of the meat was sold to grocery stores, said Jack Harris, chief operating officer for Zartic, Inc., of Rome, Georgia.
"This is a voluntary recall taken out of an abundance of caution," Harris said.
Salmonella, a bacteria that can cause severe cramps and diarrhea, has been linked to as many as 3.8 million illnesses annually in the United States.
Salmonella was the second most common bacteria found in food poisoning cases last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The U.S. Agriculture Department said the beef steak was distributed in Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Kentucky.
Zartic is now attempting to determine if its beef was responsible for the salmonella in the sandwiches, Harris said.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
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Phone: 631-757-4010
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