864,000 Pounds of Ground Beef Recalled in California
A California meat processor with an E. coli O157:H7 problem has recalled 864,000 pounds of ground beef sold to restaurants, hotels and distributors in California between Feb. 19- May 15, 2008, and between Jan. 5-15.
The ground beef E. coli at Huntington Meat Packing Inc. was found by USDA inspectors in a Food Safety Assessment conducted by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. The Montebello, California,-based meatpacker sold the patties and bulk ground beef under the Huntington, Imperial Meat and El Rancho brands.
FSIS says it has yet to receive any illness reports in relation to the contaminated hamburger meat.
E. coli o157:H7 is a potential deadly human pathogen that emits a powerful toxin that causes extremely painful and often bloody diarrhea. In more than 5 percent of cases it develops into hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a disease that attacks a person’s red blood cells and causes severe illness including kidney failure, strokes, heart problems and other damage. HUS most often affecting young children, the elderly or others who have weakened immune systems.
