[featured-video-plus]

The hits keep coming this morning. Turns out ground beef is contaminated, too.

JBS USA, our nations largest beef processor, is recalling nearly 100,000 pounds of ground beef for possible E. coli contamination. The meat was produced on Oct. 24th at JBS USA-owned Swift Beef Co. in Hyrum, Utah and might be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. This is the same strain that romaine lettuce has been contaminated with. They initiated the recall after Majestic Meat Company recalled about 530 pounds of ground beef that had been supplied by JBS USA.

So far, there have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of the beef.

The USDA says that this E. coli strain “can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps two to eight days after exposure. It can also cause kidney failure in children under 5 years old and older adults. Symptoms include easy bruising, pallor and decreased urine output.” 1 If you have any of these symptoms and have recently eaten ground beef, please seek emergency medical care immediately.

RELATED STORY:

The 99,260 pounds of ground beef was packaged in 2,000-pound pallets and in plastic wrapped packages of eight to 10 pounds marked as “Blue Ribbon Beef” and shipped to retail distributors for further processing and food service distributors for institutional use in California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington:2

  • Ground Beef 81/19 (81% lean) Coarse Grind bearing product code 42410.
  • Ground Beef 93/07 (93% lean) Coarse Grind bearing product code 42413.
  • Ground Beef 85/15 (85% lean) Coarse Grind bearing product code 42415.
  • Ground Beef 73/27 (73% lean) Coarse Grind bearing product code 42510.

This is now the company’s third recall:

  • In October, JBS recalled more than 6.5 million pounds of raw beef products that had been processed at its Tolleson, Arizona, processing facility due to a potential Salmonella Newport contamination; at least 57 people from 16 states got sick between Aug. 5 and Sept. 6, according to the USDA.
  • In May, the company recalled 35,464 pounds of raw ground beef processed at its Lenoir, North Carolina, facility for possible contamination with hard plastic pieces.

It’s almost like factory farming doesn’t work, isn’t good for the animals, isn’t good for the environment, and isn’t good for our health.

When will we learn?

Source:

  1. USA Today
  2. USA Today