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Nebraska Firm Expands Beef Recall

published: August 10th 2008
source: Eflux Media

Nebraska Beef announced last month its decision to recall more than 5 million pounds of beef that the company produced between May 16 and June 26 after a federal investigation reached the conclusion that the products released by Nebraska Beef led to an E. coli outbreak in several states. On Friday the company decided to recall an additional 1.2 million pounds of beef that Nebraska Beef produced on June 17, June 14 and July 8. The products have been linked to illnesses in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, the Associated Press reported.

The recall is not related to the outbreak incident at the Boy Scout Camp in Goshen, Va. The investigation conducted by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Virginia Department of Health found that the illnesses in Virginia were related to the products from S&S Foods of Azusa, Calif. The company announced late on Wednesday its decision to recall153,630 pounds of frozen ground beef.  The Azusa, the California-based company recalled the beef products that were shipped to distribution centers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Allentown, Pennsylvania.

E. coli O157:H7 can cause bad stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, sometimes with blood in it. In some cases, it can cause life threatening problems. Children, the elderly and people with weak immune systems are more exposed to the disease. Harmful bacteria are destroyed and the ground beef is safe to consume when it is cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Health officials recommend that people cook beef (especially ground beef) until is completely cooked through and no longer pink.

The CDC estimates that the E. bacterium sickens more than 70,000 people and kills more than 60 every year in the United States.