Ground beef products totaling almost 2 million pounds sold for U.S. restaurants and retail distribution are the subject of a recall because of possible E. coli bacterial contamination, officials say.
Eleven cases of illness in four U.S. states have been linked to the suspect products produced by the Wolverine Packing Co. of Detroit from March 31 to April 18, the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday.
Those illnesses, with onset dates between April 22 and May 2, were confirmed by the FSIS working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
People affected by E. coli can experience nausea, diarrhea and severe cramps, and sometimes more severe complications including kidney failure are seen in young children and the elderly, the USDA said.
The products being recalled by the Wolverine Packing Co., all bearing the product code EST.2574B and totaling 1.8 million pounds, were first thought to have been shipped to four states -- Massachusetts, Ohio, Missouri and Michigan -- but is now believed to have been sent to distributors servicing retail markets and restaurants nationwide, the department announced in a release.
The production date of the suspect material can be identified by a code formatted as "Packing Nos: MM DD 14" where those numbers range from "03 31 14" to "04 18 14."
The FSIS has categorized the recall as a "Class I" health hazard, considered a situation with a reasonable assumption that use of a product could cause adverse, serious health issues or even death.
There is no evidence the possibly contaminated products made their way into the National School Lunch Program or the Defense Department, the USDA said, nor was any distributed for Internet or catalog sales.
The department is urging consumers to only eat ground beef cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees F.
That internal temperature, confirmed with a food thermometer, is necessary to assure complete destruction of any possible harmful bacteria, it says.
The FSIS says a retail distribution list of the recalled products, when available, will be available on its website, and that a full list of the products is available.
The agency is working with federal and state health organizations to investigate and would release updated information when available, officials said.
