UPDATE: Illness Caused by E. Coli Leads to Recall of Ground Beef

Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. issued a recall of approximately 8,500 pounds of ground beef that could be contaminated with E. coli, the U.S. Department of Agriculture(USDA) announced Saturday.

Cargill is working in cooperation with the USDA in an effort to find the cause of the contaminated product. Once E. coli was found as the cause of illness, Cargill immediately issued the recall to prevent additional cases of illness. Martin stated the recall was the proper course of action for Cargill to take in prevention of people getting sick.

Escherichia coli, generally known as E. coli is a bacterium which is found in the lower intestines of warm blooded organisms. Many strains are harmless, however some, such as serotype 0157:H7 can cause food poisoning in humans, and sometimes responsible for product recalls.

The recall involves beef sold at 26 BJ’s Wholesale Club locations in Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maryland. Federal officials learned of the problem on Aug. 5. The recalled hamburger bears the USDA establishment number “EST. 9400,” an identifying product code of “W69032″ and has a “use/freeze by” date of July 1.

Consumers with questions about the ground beef recall should call Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. at 877.788.4953.