Ground Beef Recall From Canada Sold at Albertsons, Other Washington Stores

A large Canadian beef recall related to E. coli has expanded to the U.S., including beef products sold at various retailers in Washington state.

On Monday, Albertsons announced it was voluntarily recalling a long list of ground beef items that included trimmings that were part of the recall of XL Foods Inc. of Canada. Safeway’s recall covered Washington, Oregon and Northern Idaho.

In its statement, Albertsons said:

All raw ground beef products sold through the full service counter case at the customer’s request and store-packaged ground beef products purchased from 9/3/12 through 9/21/12.

Additionally, the following pre-packaged products are subject to the recall:

• Fresh Ground Beef Patties 80/20, 1 LB, UPC: 7-52907-60030, USE BY Date: 9/11/12
• Fresh Ground Beef Chub 73/27, 1 LB, UPC: 7-52907-18271, USE BY Date: 9/18/12 & 9/21/12
• Fresh Ground Beef Chub 73/27, 3 LB, UPC: 7-52907-18251, USE BY Date: 9/18/12 & 9/21/12

Customers are urged to check their freezers for the specified products above and return them to their local Albertsons store for a full refund or replacement.

Affected products are no longer available for sale in any Albertsons stores, and no illnesses linked to products sold at Albertsons have been reported. Albertsons customers with questions about this issue should call Albertsons Customer Care at 1-877-932-7948.

Haggen Northwest Fresh also voluntarily recalled ground beef products and urged consumers to check their homes for the products and return them to the store for a refund.

Safeway had issued a similar recall notice for the raw ground beef on Saturday for stores in Washington, Oregon and Montana.

Here’s some more detail about the recall from Food Safety News, including a link to the full list of recalled products (scroll down to “US Recalls”).

From the USDA’s post about the recall:

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration, and in the most severe cases, kidney failure. The very young, seniors and persons with weak immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness.
(Food Safety and Inspection Service) advises all consumers to safely prepare their raw meat products, including fresh and frozen, and only consume ground beef that has been cooked to a temperature of 160 degrees. The only way to confirm that ground beef is cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria is to use a food thermometer that measures internal temperature.