Friday the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that Beef Packers, Inc, owned by Cargill, was recalling over 22,000 pounds of ground beef products due to possible contamination with Salmonella Newport, a potentially deadly pathogen.
Yesterday the agency released a list of over hundred Safeway stores in Arizona (pdf) that received the recalled meat.
The recalled products were produced on September 23, 2009 and bear establishment number “EST. 31913” on the cases they were shipped in.
According to USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the ground beef was repackaged and sold under several different retail brand names, so consumers must check with their retail stores to ensure their ground beef is not part of the recall.
The ongoing investigation has tied the recall to two illnesses in Arizona.
“The Salmonella Newport strain was isolated both from the patients and from the ground beef produced by Est. 31913,” according to FSIS. “They were also linked by their uncommon pulse-filed gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern found in PulseNet, a national network of public health and food regulatory agency laboratories coordinated by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.”
Consumers with questions or concerns about the meat recalls should contact the company directly (877) 435-4071.
