September 3, 2007
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service is warning consumers about more than 41,000 pounds of ground beef that may be contaminated with a virulent strain of the E. coli bacteria. The agency says the meat was produced at Interstate Meat Dist., Inc., a Clackamas, Ore., establishment.
The health alert was prompted by investigations conducted by the State of Oregon Department of Health Services and the Washington State Department of Health. Those probes determined that there is a possible link between the ground beef products and eight confirmed E. coli O157:H7 illnesses reported in Oregon and Washington.
The products subject to this public health alert include:
• 16-ounce packages of "Northwest Finest 7% FAT, NATURAL GROUND BEEF." The label bears a UPC code of "752907 600127."
• 16-ounce packages of "Northwest Finest 10% FAT, Organic GROUND BEEF."
Each package also bears the establishment number "Est. 965" inside the USDA mark of inspection as well as a sell-by date between "08/01/07" and "08/11/07."
The ground beef products were produced on various dates between July 19 and July 30, 2007, and were distributed to retail establishments in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
Based on product shelf life, these products would no longer have been sold in grocery stores after August 5. However, these products could be in consumers' freezers and it is important that consumers look for and return these products if they find them.
