Canadian Ground Beef Recall Extends to U.S.

Some of the ground beef products recalled by a Canadian firm this week for possible E. coli contamination were sold to processors in the United States, announced a U.S. distributor Monday.  The potentially contaminated ground beef products, manufactured by XL Foods of Alberta, Canada, were tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture when entering the U.S. at the Canadian border and were found to contain E. coli O157:H7, according to a press release from US Foods.  The affected meat was sold by XL Foods to at least two large U.S. processors, including Morasch Meats of Portland, OR and Cattleman’s (a US Foods brand), according to Greg Pallaske, Director of Regulatory Compliance at US Foods, which buys ground beef from these processors and distributes it to retail locations.  US Foods distributed the XL Foods ground beef from three Pacific Region centers, Pallaske told Food Safety News Tuesday.  No illnesses have been linked to consumption of the recalled products to date.  US Foods says it has begun to contact customers who purchased products subject to the recall.  For more information on the ground beef recall in Canada, where the affected product is sold at at least 12 retail chains across the country, see the list of recalled XL Foods products on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s website.