000835 IBP-Owned Canadian Company Recalls Ground Beef

Washington - A Canadian company is recalling 73,800 pounds of ground beef and ground beef chuck distributed in the United States after regulators found the deadly E. coli pathogen in samples.

IBP Inc., which owns the meat distribution company Lakeside Packers in Alberta, issued the recall. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service said they received no reports of illnesses associated with the product.

It is IBP's third recall of E. coli-contaminated beef in a little more than a month.

The imported beef was produced on July 19 in Canada and sent to distributors and wholesalers in Illinois, Washington, Florida and Kansas.

The beef is packed in 10 pound packages with eight packages per shipping case. Each case bears the code “Pack Date 19JUL2000” and “EST. 38” on the end panel. The packages under recall are marked with a code of “003800201,” followed by five more characters.

In June, the company issued recalls of contaminated beef on consecutive days - 46,000 pounds, produced in at the Alberta site, on June 23; and 266,000 pounds produced at a plant in Geneseo, Ill., on June 24.

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly pathogen that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. The very young, the elderly, and persons with compromised immune systems are the most susceptible to food-borne illness.

The FSIS said consumers should only eat ground beef patties that have been cooked to a safe temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit, high enough to kill harmful bacteria.

Consumers with questions about the recall may contact Dean Danilson at the FSIS at 1-888-299-5529. General food safety questions can be answered by calling the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry hot line at 1-800-535-4555.

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