Kroger Beef Recall Expanded to Other States, Store Brands
Posted on: Thursday, 3 July 2008, 00:15 CDT
The Kroger Co. enlarged its voluntary recall on Wednesday to include ground beef products sold at stores in more than 20 states. The nation’s No. 1 traditional grocer said the meat may be contaminated with E. coli.
The recall involves meat obtained from one of Kroger’s suppliers, Nebraska Beef Ltd., which has been linked to E.coli infections reported in Michigan and Ohio between May 31 and June 8.
Nebraska Beef has now recalled from wholesalers and other processing companies nearly 532,000 pounds of ground beef on five dates between May 16 and June 24.
Kroger urged customers to return any ground beef products sold at its stores with "sell buy" dates from mid-May through early July.
"Ground beef in stores today comes from other suppliers not involved in the recall," Meghan Glynn, a spokeswoman for Kroger, said Wednesday.
The initial recall began June 25, and included Kroger stores in Michigan and in northern and central Ohio. The updated recall now includes ground beef purchased at Ralphs, Baker’s, Fred Meyer, Pay Less, Scotts, QFC, Smith's, King Soopers, City Markets, Hilander and Owen's in more than 20 states.
Included in the recall are products in Styrofoam tray packages wrapped in clear cellophane, or bought from an in-store service counter at certain Kroger stores. However, ground beef sold in sealed tubes in one, three or five-pound packages are not included. Frozen ground beef patties are also excluded from the recall.
Kroger is placing signs in their stores to notify customers, and is also using its register receipt notification system.
The company can sometimes track purchases by customers who use the Kroger loyalty card. Glynn said in some cases the company is able to call customers who used the card to purchase a tainted product, and is doing so with the ground beef recall.
Experts urge people to wash their hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food, and advise using a digital thermometer to ensure the hamburger has been thoroughly cooked and heated to at least 160 degrees.
Symptoms of an E. coli infection typically include diarrhea, severe stomach cramps, vomiting and fever. Most people recover in about 5 to 7 days.
Kroger’s ground beef recall comes amid a separate scare in recent weeks involving potentially contaminated tomatoes that have sickened nearly 900 people with salmonella infections. Investigators are trying to identify the source of the tomatoes, and are now considering whether or not other produce may be the source.
---
Consumers who have questions about the recall may contact Kroger toll-free at (800) 632-6900 or online at .http://www.kroger.com/recalls
---
On the Net:
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service: http://www.fsis.usda.gov
U.S. Centers for Disease Control E. coli site: http://cdc.gov/ecoli
Source: redOrbit staff and wire reports
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds