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USDA links
bad beef to state
Source
of Article: http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20090707/NEWS/907070342/1069/YOURUPSTATE01/USDA-links-bad-beef-to-state
No in-state residents infected by contaminated meat
By Liv Osby • Health
Writer • July 7, 2009
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At
least 17 people around the country have been infected with a strain of E.
coli linked to recalled beef that was sold in South Carolina and
nationwide, federal health officials said Monday.
More than 41,000 pounds of the
meat were originally recalled by JBS Swift Beef Co. on June 24 after
contamination was found during an inspection by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. Another 380,000 pounds of beef from the same company was
subsequently recalled as well.
The U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention said Monday that people in nine states — not South
Carolina — had been sickened by a strain of E. coli that had the same DNA
fingerprint as the recalled beef. While at least 12 people were
hospitalized, no one has died.
The beef was distributed to
retailers around the country, and USDA has posted on its Web site a listing
of the stores where it may have been sold. The list includes BI-LO, Food
Lion, Costco, Sam's Club and SAV-A-LOT stores.
But USDA cautions the list “may
not include all retail locations that have received the recalled product or
may include retail locations that did not actually receive the recalled
product.”
Peggy Riek, spokeswoman for USDA's
Food Safety and Inspection Service, said the agency is posting the
information as it receives it from the company, but that consumers should
check with their retailers to be sure if they sold any of the recalled
meat.
The recalled beef was sold after
April 21. And since some of the beef sold to retailers was probably cut
again or made into ground beef and repackaged, consumers may not have all
of the identifying information, CDC said. Most of the sicknesses involved
eating ground beef.
CDC urges consumers to return any
beef products produced by the firm and bought on or after April 21, and to
fully cook meat to 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
The beef may have been sold as
sirloin top roast, sirloin tip steak, breakfast steak, beef tips, stew
meat, stir fry beef, cube steak, ground beef, London broil roast, or top
round steak, according to BI-LO's Web site.Consumers can return the meat to
the store where it was purchased for an exchange or refund.
The
USDA reports that the meat also was sold at Save-A-Lot stores at 7912 White
Horse Road in Greenville and at 550 South Church Road in Spartanburg, among
other South Carolina cities. Spokeswoman Maureen Shannon said customers can
return the products for a full refund.
Costco
and Food Lion are also providing affected customers with a refund. Sam's
Club couldn't be reached for comment.
The
state Department of Health and Environmental Control is monitoring for
cases of E. coli, spokeswoman Clair Boatwright said.
Symptoms
of E. coli include cramps and diarrhea, which is often bloody, and appear
two to eight days after eating the tainted food, according to the CDC. Most
people recover within a week, although the disease can lead to a type of
kidney failure in some patients, typically young children, and can be
fatal.
Seniors
and those with weak immune systems, as well as small children, are most
susceptible.
Patients
sickened in the outbreak ranged in age from 2 to 74, though most were 19 or
younger, according to CDC. Illnesses were reported in California, Maine,
Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and Wisconsin.
Most of
the beef packages are identified by the establishment number “Est. 969” and
dates of “042109” or “042209,” though since much of the meat was processed,
it was sold to consumers without those identifiers.
Consumers
can call a company hotline — 800-555-7675 – with questions.
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