Health Law

Bob's Food City Recalls E. coli O157:H7 Contaminated Ground Beef

By Marler Clark

The summer is fast approaching and that means--you guessed it--E. coli-contaminated meat recalls!

Bob's Food City, a Hot Springs, Ark., retailer is recalling approximately 375 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The following ground beef products subject to recall were sold as tray packs of varying weights bearing a "Sell By" date of "05/09/09." The products subject to recall include:

• 1-pound through 5-pound tray packs of "GROUND BEEF CHUCK," "GROUND ROUND" or "REGULAR GROUND BEEF." Each pack bears a sell by date of "05/09/09." There is no USDA mark of inspection on the tray packs.

These ground beef products were produced on May 7, 2009, and were sold to customers of the Bob's Food City retail store located at 800 Malvern Avenue, in Hot Springs, Ark.

The problem was discovered through FSIS sampling procedures. FSIS has received no reports of illness due to consumption of these ground beef products.

While cooking meat to a thermometer-verified internal temperature of at least 160 degrees F is wise, it does not solve the problem of feces-contaminated (and therefore potentially E. coli-contaminated) meat.  How about the endless possibilities for cross-contamination before the meat ever hits the grill?

As Bill says, "get the poop out!"

Full post as published by Food Poison Blog on May 12, 2009 (boomark / email).