Ground Beef Made With XL Trim Recalled by Safeway in 3 States

Canada’s big beef recall—the one that’s been expanded five times to include more than 200 products—has now reached the U.S. in a major way.  On Saturday, Safeway recalled a long list of its own ground beef items that may include beef trim from XL Foods in Canada for possible contamination with E. coli O157:H7.  The recalled beef products were being sold in Montana, Oregon, and Washington state.  In a statement, Safeway said it was informed by Interstate Meat Distributors that ground beef products produced for the grocery store chain included trimmings that were subject to XL Foods Inc.’s expanded recall.

Two other U.S. meat distributors, Portland’s Morasch Meats and Detroit’s Wolverine Packing Co. were also previously reported as impacted by the Canadian recall.  Check eFoodAlert for a complete list of recalled products in the Canada/Ground Beef Recall.  None of the Safeway products are yet associated with any illnesses.  The company said it initiated the recall “out of an abundance of caution.”  The recalled products have Sell By dates of 09-07-12 to 09-23-12. Safeway is asking its customers to check all ground beef in their refrigerators and freezers.  The recalled products were sold from the self-service meat cooler and were packaged on black Styrofoam trays.  The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued the first public health warning about beef products made by Edmonton-based XL Foods on Sept. 16.  Canada’s recall was expanded five times before Safeway made its announcement.  While XL beef did test positive for E. coli O157:H7 in the U.S. on Sept. 3, CFIA officials insist that test did not trigger the recall.  If true, exactly what did trigger the recall in Canada remains unknown.  Both CFIA and USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) are continuing their investigations.  XL beef trim reportedly in distributed in at least eight states.