The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has officially warned users against certain ground beef products produced by the Greater Omaha Packing Co., which could be contaminated with E. coli.
The FSIS public health advisory from Saturday lists over a dozen possibly tainted products, including raw ground beef patties and tubes.
The FDA warned the public not to eat any products because they may contain E. coli and expressed concern that some may be in the freezers of customers and food service establishments.
(Photo: Pixabay) The mystery of the recent E. coli outbreak has been solved. According to the CDC, the source is traced to ground beef.
Products manufactured on March 28 should have packaging with an April 22 "Use/Freeze by" date and the establishment number "EST. 960A."
The FSIS advisory stated that the impacted ground beef products "are no longer available for purchase," thus there was no need for a recall.
The establishment uncovered the issue after reportedly doing an inventory of the product placed on hold after testing positive for E. Coli 0157:H7.
The business informed FSIS that they had unintentionally used some of the tainted beef to make ground beef products, which they then exported into the market.
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Dangers of E. Coli
Escherichia coli, or E. coli, is a common form of bacteria in both human and animal intestines.
According to the CDC, most E. Coli are harmless and helpful to people's digestive systems. However, some strains can cause serious illness when they come into contact with humans or animals, polluted food, or drink.
The kind of E. coli that ground beef products may contain is a potentially fatal bacteria that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration, and cramping in the abdomen for two to eight days and three to four days, on average, after exposure.
Fortunately, according to FSIS, no one has yet become ill due to the ground beef products that were the subject of the public health notice on Saturday.
Even while the majority of people exposed to E. coli O157:H7 recover in five to seven days, some infections can be fatal.
Serious infections, including hemolytic uremic syndrome, can cause serious kidney failure in young children and elderly individuals.
About 265,000 infections with E. coli that produce Shiga toxin occur in the United States each year, according to the CDC.
FDA's Salmonella Investigation
On a related note, consumers have also been warned by the Food and Drug Administration against two brands of organic basil due to an outbreak investigation of salmonella.
The FDA issued a warning regarding two products: "Melissa's brand fresh organic basil" in 2.0-oz (UPC 0 45255 14142 9) and 4.0-oz clamshell packages (UPC 0 45255 14439 0) that are on sale at Dierberg's stores in Illinois and Missouri from February 10 through February 20, 2024; and "Infinite Herbs-brand organic basil" packed in 2.5-oz clamshell packaging (UPC 8 18042 02147 7) and sold at Trader Joe's and Fruit Center Marketplace stores from February 1 through April 6, 2024.
The back of the packaging labels for both recalled brands of basil identify them as Colombian products. As per the FDA, since the recalled basil is past its expiration date, it should no longer be sold.
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