New England Ground Beef E. coli Outbreak and Recall Affecting MA ME CT Trader Joes Shaws Price Chopper BJs
A New England ground beef E. coli outbreak has been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and linked to ground beef produced by Fairbanks Farms and sold through Trader Joes, Price Chopper, Shaw’s, BJ’s, Lancaster and Wild Harvest, Ford Brothers and Giant.
New York-based Fairbanks Farms is recalling 545,699 pounds of fresh ground beef products that the CDC, USDA and state health and agricultural departments have associated with a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine. Authorities have not said how many people have been sickened.
The ground beef was produced by Fairbanks Farms in Ashville, New York, September 15 and 16. It has sell-by dates ranging from September 19-28. Most of the ground beef was sold in meat cases at retailers who use their own store labels, but you can identify suspect packages by looking for the USDA establishment number 492 inside the USDA mark of inspection.
E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly pathogen that is particularly dangerous in young children and people who are older than 60. In more than 5 percent of cases, it leads to life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, the leading cause of kidney failure in children in the U.S.
If you or a loved one has symptoms of E. coli infection, including bloody diarrhea, see a physician immediately. For legal information about this outbreak and what families should do if they have been victimized, call national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys. We can be contacted at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete our online contact and information form.
Consumers have special legal rights in E. coli ground beef lawsuits because the pathogen is banned from ground beef. As such, it is an adulterant and the liability of selling adulterated food does not stop with the manufacturer.
Here is the New England ground beef E. coli recall announced by USDA and Fairbanks Farms:
Trader Joes
- 1-pound packages of “TRADER JOE’S BUTCHER SHOP FINE QUALITY MEATS GROUND BEEF 85/15.”
- 1-pound packages of “TRADER JOE’S BUTCHER SHOP FINE QUALITY MEATS GROUND BEEF 80/20.”
- NOTE: The sell-by dates for the above two products may be October 6 or 7, 2009.
- 1-pound trays of “TRADER JOE’S BUTCHER SHOP FINE QUALITY MEATS GROUND BEEF PATTIES 96/4 EXTRA LEAN.”
- 1-pound trays of “TRADER JOE’S BUTCHER SHOP FINE QUALITY MEATS GROUND BEEF PATTIES 85/15.”
Price Chopper
- 1- and 2.5-pound trays of “PRICE CHOPPER MEATLOAF & MEATBALL MIX.
- 1-pound trays of “PRICE CHOPPER EXTRA LEAN GROUND BEEF 96/4.”
- 1-pound trays of “PRICE CHOPPER FRESH GROUND BEEF CHUCK FOR CHILI 80% LEAN 20% FAT.”
Lancaster and Wild Harvest
- 1-pound trays of “LANCASTER BRAND 96/4 EXTRA LEAN GROUND BEEF.”
- 1- and 2-pound trays of “LANCASTER BRAND 90/10 GROUND BEEF.”
- 1-pound trays of “WILD HARVEST NATURAL 85/15 ANGUS GROUND BEEF.”
Shaw’s
- 1- and 2-pound trays of “SHAW’S FRESH GROUND BEEF 93/7.”
- 1-, 2- and 3-pound trays of “SHAW’S FRESH GROUND BEEF 80/20.”
- 1- and 3-pound trays of “SHAW’S FRESH GROUND BEEF 75/25.”
- 1.3-pound trays of “SHAW’S FRESH GROUND SIRLOIN BEEF PATTIES 90/10.”
- 1.3-pound trays of “SHAW’S FRESH GROUND ROUND BEEF PATTIES 85/15.”
- 1.3-pound trays of “SHAW’S FRESH GROUND BEEF PATTIES 80/20.”
- 3-pound trays of “SHAW’S FRESH GROUND BEEF PATTIES FAMILY PACK 80/20.”
- 1-pound trays of “SHAW’S ANGUS GROUND BEEF 85/15.”
- 1-, 2- and 3-pound trays of “SHAW’S FRESH GROUND ROUND BEEF 85/15.”
- 1-pound trays of “SHAW’S 90% NATURAL GROUND BEEF.”
- 1-pound trays of “SHAW’S 85% NATURAL GROUND BEEF.”
- 1-, 2- and 3-pound trays of “SHAW’S FRESH GROUND SIRLOIN 90/10.”
- 1-pound trays of “MEATLOAF & MEATBALL MIX.”
BJ’s
- 5-pound trays of “FRESH GROUND BEEF, CONTAINS 15 % FAT” patties.
- 3- and 5-pound trays of “LEAN GROUND BEEF, CONTAINS 7% FAT.”
- 2.5-pound trays of “MEATLOAF & MEATBALL MIX.”
Ford Brothers
- 3-pound trays of “FRESH GROUND BEEF, CONTAINS 20% FAT” patties.
Giant
- 1-pound trays of “GIANT EXTRA LEAN GROUND BEEF 96/4.”
- 1-pound trays of “GIANT MEATLOAF & MEATBALL MIX.”
- 1-pound trays of “GIANT NATURE’S PROMISE GROUND BEEF.”
- 1-pound trays of “GIANT NATURE’S PROMISE GROUND BEEF PATTIES.”
