Washington - Colorado Boxed Beef Co., a Florida meat processing firm, is voluntarily recalling 359,000 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with a deadly strain of the E. coli bacteria, the U.S. Agriculture Department said Tuesday.
It was the second voluntary recall announced by the department's Food Safety and Inspection Service in the past few days, underscoring the need for consumers to be extremely careful when handling and cooking ground meat products.
No illnesses were reported in connection with the latest recall, the Agriculture Department said.
The Florida recall covers all ground beef products sold under the “Colorado Gold”, “200% Guarantee”, and “Winn-Dixie” brand names with “Est. 7353” inside the USDA inspection legend on the label with sell-by dates from Nov. 6 through Nov. 11.
Consumers were being told to return all ground beef patty products with sell-by dates of Nov. 6-10, and any other fresh ground beef products with sell- by dates of Nov. 7-11.
The products were distributed to Albertson's, Wal-Mart Super Centers, and Winn-Dixie stores in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Some “Colorado Gold” products were also shipped to Jacksonville Naval Station in Florida.
No comment was immediately available from the company.
There has been a rash of manufacturer recalls of possibly tainted meat in recent weeks, including ground beef, hot dogs and luncheon meats.
The most recent recall came on Friday when Glenmark Industries Ltd., a Chicago meat processing firm, voluntarily recalled 601,000 pounds of frozen ground beef produced this past summer.
“As always, consumers should be careful with any ground meat product and be sure to cook it well enough,” said Beth Gaston at the FSIS.
She urged particular caution over the coming Thanksgiving holiday, noting that consumers should make sure that any stuffing put into the traditional turkey dinner reached a temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
USDA said it learned of the problem with the beef from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which regularly tests ground beef sold at retail stores.
Product sampled by Florida authorities at a retail store in Orlando was found positive for E-coli 0157:H7, a harmful bacteria that can cause illness, diarrhea and even death.
The bacteria is killed when meat is cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
FSIS Administrator Thomas Billy acknowledged that the sell-by dates on the ground beef in question had since expired. “USDA is informing the public so consumers who may have purchased product will check their freezers,” he said.
“Although we urge customers to return this product, we want to use this opportunity to underscore how important it is to always thoroughly cook ground beef,” he added.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
P.O. Box 553
Northport, NY 11768
Phone: 631-757-4010
Fax: 631-757-4060
E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com
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