Nationwide health alert issued for ground beef over potential E. coli risk

(WTAJ) – A nationwide health alert has been issued for Greater Omaha ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, a particular strain of Escherichia coli that is known to cause severe intestinal infection in humans.

The impacted raw ground beef items were produced and packaged on March 28, 2024, with a “Use/Freeze by” date of April 22, 2024, and “EST.960A” inside the USDA mark of inspection.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the ground beef was shipped to restaurants and retail locations throughout the country.

The FSIS has issued a health alert for the following products:

The labels for these products can be found on the FSIS website.

Because the affected products are no longer for sale, the FSIS said a recall was not requested. Instead, the agency has issued a health alert in case consumers have any of the ground beef in their freezer.

If you have any of the beef products listed above, the FSIS advises against consuming them. Instead, they should be thrown away or returned to wherever you purchased them.

There have been no confirmed reports of illness connected to this health alert, but if you are feeling unwell after consuming the ground beef, you should contact a healthcare provider.

E. coli, a potentially deadly bacterium, can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps. Symptoms typically set in within three to four days after consuming an affected food, and can last about a week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Severe cases of E. coli are most common in children younger than 5 years old and in older adults, but any person experiencing these symptoms should seek emergency medical care immediately.

In some serious cases, a patient may develop kidney failure, the CDC notes.

If you have questions about the health alert, FSIS says to contact Gina Adami, Greater Omaha Packing Co., Inc. Representative, at 402-575-4702 or gadami@gmail.com.

If you have food safety questions, you can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-MPHotline (888-674-6854) or send a question via email to MPHotline@usda.gov. You can go online to the Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System the report a problem with a meat, poultry, or egg product.

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