Burger Recall Over Potentially Deadly Bacteria Found in Beef Products

An Illinois meat producer has issued a recall of around 6,768 pounds of ground beef products including ready-made burger patties after samples were found to contain E. coli, a potentially deadly bacteria, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has said.

In an alert issued on Sunday, the federal agency announced that Valley Meats—a Coal Valley beef and pork products wholesaler that markets mainly to the foodservices industry across 27 states—was recalling seven different types of beef product over concerns they may have been contaminated.

FSIS said it was "concerned that some product may be in institutional or restaurant refrigerators or freezers." It urged anyone who had bought the products under the recall to not serve them, and either throw them away or return them to where they had been purchased.

Newsweek approached Valley Meats via email for comment on Monday.

E. coli is a diverse group of bacteria found naturally occurring in the environment, some strains of which produce a toxic that can cause sickness, including stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms begin to develop around three days after infection, and between five and 10 percent of people who contract the illness develop a potentially life-threatening complication that could cause a person's kidneys to stop functioning.

FSIS said that the items subject to a recall were shipped to distributors in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Michigan intended for further distribution to restaurants and hospitality providers. All were produced on December 22.

"The problem was discovered when the establishment notified FSIS that samples of ground beef products submitted to a third-party laboratory for microbiological analysis tested positive for E. coli," the agency said.

It stressed that there had been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions following consumption of the products.

Included in the recall are 12- and 16-pound boxes of Angus ground beef patties with expiry dates of January 15; 13.5-, 24- and 28-pound boxes of ground beef patties with the same expiry date; and 20- and 40-pound boxes of ground beef. The particular boxes subject to the alert were produced between particular given times and have specific codes named by FSIS.

The FSIS urged anyone who was concerned about illness due to consuming the products to contact a healthcare provider.

The ground beef recall is just the latest to be prompted by fears of a bacterial contamination. The week before Christmas, an Ohio company recalled an assortment of deli salads over concerns they may contain listeria, while the week before, Quaker Oats recalled granola products due to a potential contamination with salmonella.

In April, a different Illinois meat vendor recalled over 2,000 pounds of beef patties after receiving "multiple" complaints of white plastic turning up in the product. It came a month after a Minnesota-based catering firm was forced to recall frozen beef pastries from schools in the state following concerns that they contained wire-like metal.

Meanwhile, residents north of Tampa, Florida were recently told to boil their tap water before use "out of an abundance of caution" after a burst main prompted precautionary measures against contamination by pathogens including E. coli.