E coli Ground Beef Recalled from Restaurant
Fairbury Steaks Inc. of Fairbury, Nebraska, is recalling 90 pounds of fresh ground beef that it made Monday and distributed to a restaurant in Ruskin, Nebraska. The name of the restaurant was not published.
That’s the report in a ground beef recall notice published Tuesday by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The agency detected E. coli O157:H7 in the meat, which was packaged in 10-pound packages of “bulk fresh ground beef.”
The recalled meet is marked with USDA establishment number EST 5726 inside the USDA mark of inspection. The ground beef E. coli recall notice from FSIS said no illnesses have been reported in connection with the recalled product.
Anyone with E. coli O157:H7 symptoms should see a physician immediately. To review your legal rights, call an E. coli lawyer at Pritzker Olsen Attorneys, 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete one of our online contact and information forms. Our firm will provide you with a free case consultation.
CDC Updates Information on Fairbank Ground Beef Recall Associated With E. coli Outbreak
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a revised statement Tuesday with updated information on the number of E. coli O157:H7 cases related to Saturday’s recall of 545,699 pounds of ground beef by Ashville, N.Y.-based Fairbank Farms.
Attorney Fred Pritzker Calls on Fairbank Farms to Compensate E. coli Victims
A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a child who was sickened by E. coli O157:H7 against Fairbank Farms, an Ashville, New York firm that recalled over 500,000 pounds of ground beef products on October 31, 2009. The Fairbank Farms lawsuit was filed in Massachusetts.
To date, CDC reports 26 cases of E. coli O157:H7 associated with the recalled Fairbank Farms ground beef products. The states involved in this outbreak include California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont.
Attorney Fred Pritzker, a national food safety lawyer, calls on Fairbank Farms to pay the medical expenses incurred by these E. coli victims:
“Eating a hamburger should not be a high-risk activity,” said Pritzker. “This outbreak was preventable. Fairbank Farms should take responsibility for the harm caused by its ground beef products and immediately pay the medical expenses of those sickened while legal cases are being resolved.”
Health officials found E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef recovered from an infected person’s home that matched the outbreak-strain of E. coli O157:H7 that sickened people in this outbreak, according to the CDC:
Health officials in several states who were investigating a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses, with isolates that match by “DNA fingerprinting” analyses [PFGE analysis], found that most ill persons had consumed ground beef, with several purchasing the same or similar product from a common retail chain. At least some of the illnesses appear to be associated with products subject to these recalls. A sample from an opened package of ground beef recovered from a patient’s home was tested by the Massachusetts Department of Health and yielded an E. coli O157:H7 isolate that matched the patient isolates by DNA analysis.
E. coli O157:H7 emits a powerful Shiga toxin that attacks red blood cells in humans. Its effects can range from mild gastrointestinal discomfort to death and people who have weakened or underdeveloped immune systems — especially children under 5 and adults over 60 — are most vulnerable.
Two people have died in this outbreak, and 16 people have been hospitalized. Of those hospitalized, three developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS. This is a life-threatening complication of E. coli O157:H7 infection that kills more than 4 percent of its victims. Even when it’s not fatal, patients often suffer life-long health consequences. HUS is the leading cause of kidney failure in children in the United States.
“The people sickened in this outbreak and their families should not be burdened with medical bills while Fairbank Farms fights over other issues, such as compensation for pain and suffering,” stated Pritzker. “Paying the medical expenses immediately is the least Fairbank Farms can do.”
Pritzker Olsen is one of the few law firms in the United States that practices extensively in the area of E. coli litigation. For more information, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or email Attorney Fred Pritzker.
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.”
South Shore Meats Recall Follows Camp Bournedale E coli
The Centers for Disease Control has associated a finding of E. coli O157:H7 in leftover ground beef from a hamburger meal at Camp Bournedale in Plymouth, Massachusetts, with the Lincoln Middle School E. coli outbreak.
San Diego Meat Co. Ground Beef E. coli Recall
A finding of E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef made by San Diego Meat Co. has prompted a recall of 925 pounds of patties and bulk product.
USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) made the recall announcement, saying no illnesses have yet been reported in connection with the contamination. The positive test result came from routine sampling inspection by FSIS.
The recall relates to 15-pound cases of San Diego Meat patties and 10-pound bags of San Diego Meat bulk ground beef. They were produced on October 7, 8, 9 and 12, bearing the USDA establishment mark EST 4116 inside the agency’s mark of inspection.
FSIS says the ground beef was distributed to restaurants and two caterers in the San Diego County area of California.
If you or a loved one are concerned about an illness related to consumption of the recalled ground beef, contact a physician immediately. To protect your legal rights, contact national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free). We have a national reputation as a leader in the area of foodborne illness litigation, recovering tens of millions of dollars for victims of E. coli O157:H7 and other pathogens. Our legal team will provide you with a free case consultation by phone or by reviewing a completed online contact and information form.
E. coli O157:H7 bacteria can be killed in ground beef if the meat is cooked to at least 160 degrees, but it is not safe to handle adulterated raw meat because it can cross-contaminate kitchen surfaces and utensils. Most scientists agree that it only takes a few microbes of E. coli O157:H7 to infect a person, and once inside a person’s intestines the organism can wreak havoc.
