Over 100,000 Pounds of Ground Beef May Be Contaminated by E.coli

published Sep 21, 2018

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Carnivores should be on high alert: A meat supplier for many grocery stores including Publix has decided to recall over 132,000 pounds of ground beef due to E. coli concerns.

The trouble began last month, when Publix stores in Florida announced that it would be pulling beef products made from ground chuck from shelves after 18 people became ill. Cargill Meat Solutions, the supplier in question, is now taking extra precautions to make sure that no one else gets sick. The company is recalling all meat products that were packaged and shipped nationwide on June 21.

If you think you may have purchased one of the contaminated products you should throw it out right away. The USDA is labeling this incident a “Class I recall,” which means that there is a “reasonable probability that the use of this product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.” That sounds just about as serious a warning as you’ll ever get, so before you put those burger patties on the grill, be sure to check out the USDA’s official list of recalled products.

There’s no reason to panic and throw all your food away, but it’s important to keep up with news like this: Earlier this month, the CDC warned parents that a kid-favorite cereal, Honey Smacks, was likely contaminated with salmonella, leading to at least 100 cases of illness. Even Blue Diamond Almond Milk found itself subject to a recall, although this one much less of a threat to public safety: In August, the FDA announced that 140,000 gallons of almond milk may have been contaminated with real milk—the kind that comes from a cow.

So yes it’s true that buying groceries can be a minefield, but the government catches on quickly. Hopefully the spread of E. coli stops here.