The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Wednesday that California food company S&S Foods LLC, based in Azusa, is recalling approximately 153,630 pounds of frozen ground beef because it could be carrying E. coli O157:H7, a bacteria that can cause serious food poisoning.

According to USDA classification, this is a Class 1 recall, in other words this “is a health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death”.

The product being recalled is described as:

30-pound boxes of 742798 MFST, 100% GROUND BEEF BULK, 80/20, 1LB. BRICK”

The boxes carry the establishment number “EST. 20375” inside the USDA inspection mark, and they also have a case code printed by an inkjet printer on the side of the box that starts with the number “06238”.

The boxes were shipped to distribution centers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are unlikely to be found in retail stores because they were sold for food service and institutional use, said the FSIS announcement.

The E. coli contamination was discovered through a joint epidemiological investigation by FSIS and the Virginia Department of Health. Plus a separate product testing investigation by the Virginia Department of Health found that the E. coli strain was linked to the E. coli outbreak at the Goshen Scout Reservation in late July where seventy scouts and staff reported symptoms consistent with E. coli infection, said the Associated Press.

The USDA said the Virginia outbreak was the only one linked to the beef. One camper is still in hospital.

Infection by E. coli O157:H7 bacterium can be fatal and the people most at risk are the very young, the elderly, and people with weak immune systems. Symptoms of infection include dehydration, bloody diarrhea, and in the most serious cases, kidney failure.

FSIS said consumers should always follow safe practice when handling and preparing raw meat and poultry:

  • Before and after handling raw meat or poultry, wash hands in warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds.

  • Also wash cutting boards, dishes, knives and any other utensils in warm soapy water.

  • Use separate cutting boards for raw meat, poultry, egg products, and food that is not going to be cooked.
  • Clear up spills immediately.

  • Store raw meat, poultry and fish separately from food that is not going to be cooked.

  • Only eat ground beef or ground beef patties that have been cooked at an internal temperature of at least 160 deg F (71.1 deg C) because bacteria like E Coli can only be killed at this temperature or higher.

  • Do not rely on color as a way to decide if ground beef or ground beef patties have been cooked at a high enough temperature, it is too unreliable; the only sure way is to use a thermometer and measure the internal temperature of the beef product.

  • Put raw meat in the refrigerator within two hours of purchase or within one hour if room temperature is higher than 90 deg F (32.2 deg C).

FSIS said they had received 11 reports of illnesses linked to consumption of the recalled product. If you have eaten this product and have symptoms consistent with E. coli infection you should see a doctor straight away they said.

Click here for more information about FSIS recalls.

Sources: FSIS, Associated Press.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD