Tons Of Ground Beef (Some Sold In Illinois) Recalled For E. coli

Another week, another large recall. This time, it's for something that just happens to be a staple ingredient in many people's kitchens, and right about the time a lot of folks are looking to fire up their backyard grills.

Nothing says that you can't put your gas or charcoal grill back to work after a winter's rest, but you might just want to grab steak, chicken, fish, or pork for the time being.

Monday, The USDA Announced The Nationwide Recall Of Nearly 121,000 Pounds Of Ground Beef Products

And, as mentioned above, some of the suspected ground beef products were sold right here in Illinois. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) says that Lakeside Refrigerated Services, a Swedesboro, N.J. company, is recalling approximately 120,872 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O103.

FSIS.USDA.gov:

The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 46841” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to retail locations nationwide.

The problem was discovered during routine FSIS testing of imported products. There have been no confirmed reports of illness or adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.

Many clinical laboratories do not test for non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) such as O103 because it is harder to identify than STEC O157:H7. People can become ill from STECs 2–8 days (average of 3–4 days) after consuming the organism.

Time To Check The Fridge And/Or Freezer--Here's What You're Looking For

Unfortunately, not every recalled ground beef product has a label, but those that do include beef sold under the brands Thomas Farms, Tajima, Nature's Reserve, SE Grocers Naturally Better, Marketside Butcher, and Weis by Nature.

The USDA has a compilation of photos showing affected items. For any without a label, the product code is specified. Further, all products bear "EST. 46841" inside the USDA mark of inspection. You can check the complete list of recalled ground beef products here.