A Michigan-based meat packer is recalling more than 167,000 pounds of ground beef over concerns that it may be contaminated with E. coli.
Wolverine Packing Co., based in Detroit, shipped dozens of products containing ground beef to restaurants across the U.S.
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture later alerted the USDA that a group of people had fallen ill after consuming ground beef products. On Wednesday, Nov. 20, testing showed the meat had been contaminated with E. coli bacteria.
So far authorities are tracking 15 cases of illness associated with the outbreak. Patients fell ill between Nov. 2 and Nov. 10, all of them in Minnesota.
The affected products bear a USDA inspection stamp with the code EST. 2574B. Authorities warn some restaurants may still have contaminated meat in refrigerators or freezers and say if products are discovered they should be thrown away or returned.
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Last week a California farm issued a recall on organic carrots. And recently, an outbreak linked to onions served at McDonald's caused over 30 hospitalizations and one death.
"We produce a lot of food," Dr. Raynard Washington, Director of the Mecklenburg County Public Health Department in North Carolina, told Scripps News in a recent interview about America's food production. "So the more food we produce, the more risk you have that external organisms like bacteria and other types of things will get into the supply."
In humans, E. coli infection may generally cause dehydration, abdominal cramps and bloody diarrhea. In extreme cases, it may cause kidney failure known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, which requires immediate medical attention. Symptoms appear an average of three to four days after infection.
"If you've had that product, and you start to experience those symptoms, and you have a fever, for example, we would encourage you to go your health care, your health provider or urgent care facility, and they can do a further assessment of you," Washington said.
In humans, E. coli infection may generally cause dehydration, abdominal cramps and bloody diarrhea. In extreme cases, it may cause kidney failure known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, which requires immediate medical attention. Symptoms appear an average of three to four days after infection.
A full list of the products affected in the latest recall is available on the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service website.
