Ground beef sold at Walmart recalled for possible E. coli contamination

Nearly 43,000 pounds of ground beef including packages sold at Walmart stores are being recalled because of possible E. coli contamination.

The Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced late Saturday that Lakeside Refrigerated Services, of Swedesboro, New Jersey, is recalling select packages of ground beef produced on June 1.

The products, which were sold under brand names including Thomas Farms and Marketside Butcher, may be contaminated with the strain of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and have an establishment number “EST. 46841” inside the USDA mark of inspection, according to the recall notice.

These items were shipped to retail locations nationwide, the notice states. Marketside Butcher products are sold at Walmart.The recall notice states the problem was discovered during routine testing, adding there have been no confirmed reports of “adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.”

The USDA classified the announcement as a “Class I” recall, which it defines as a “health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.”

E. coli can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps three to four days after exposure — and potentially kidney failure in children under 5 years old and in older adults, the CDC says.

The affected products include:

• One-pound vacuum packages containing “Marketside Butcher Organic Grass-Fed Ground Beef” and “a use or freeze by date of 07/01/20 and lot code P-53298-82.”
• One-pound vacuum packages containing four quarter-pound pieces of “Marketside Butcher Organic Grass-Fed Ground Beef Patties” and “a use or freeze by date of June 27, 2020 and lot code P-53934-28.”
• Three-pound vacuum packages containing three one-pound pieces of “Marketside Butcher Organic Grass-Fed Ground Beef 93% Lean / 7% Fat” and “a use or freeze by date of 07/01/20 and lot code P53929-70.”
• One-pound tray packages containing four quarter-pound pieces of “Thomas Farms Grass-Fed Ground Beef Patties 85% Lean / 15% FAT” and “a use or freeze by date of 06/25/20 and lot code P53944-10.”
• Four-pound tray packages containing 10 quarter-pound pieces of “Thomas Farms Grass-Fed Ground Beef Patties 80% Lean / 20% Fat” and “a use or freeze by date of 06/25/20 and lot code P53937-45.”
• One-pound vacuum packages containing four quarter-pound pieces of “Thomas Farms Grass-Fed Ground Beef Patties 85% Lean / 15% Fat” and “a use or freeze by date of 06/27/20 and lot code P53935-25.”
• One-pound vacuum packages containing “Value Pack Fresh Ground Beef 76% Lean / 24% Fat” and “a use or freeze by date of 07/01/20 and lot code P53930-18.”

Consumers with questions should call Lakeside Processing Center Call Center at 856-832-3881, the notice states.

Read more at usatoday.com