Approximately 58,281 pounds of raw ground beef were pulled from the market on September 15, 2023, after a sample tested positive for E. coli O103. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced the recall.
The meat came from American Foods Group, LLC, operating as Green Bay Dressed Beef. Three products are affected, all packed in 80-lb. cases holding 10-lb. plastic tubes, known as chubs: “90050 BEEF FINE GROUND 81/19,” “20473 BEEF HALAL FINE GROUND 73/27,” and “20105 BEEF FINE GROUND 73/27.” The batch was made on August 14, 2023, and lot codes appear in the USDA announcement.
It went to Georgia, Michigan and Ohio. Distributors and other customers have been told to throw the beef out or send it back.
A harder strain to catch
O103 is not the E. coli most people hear about. The common one is Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157, and many laboratories do not test for O103 at all because it is substantially harder to detect. No illnesses had been reported at the time of the recall. People who do get sick from a food carrying STEC O103 usually notice symptoms within two to eight days. The CDC estimates that 265,000 people in the U.S. contract an STEC infection every year.
Questions can go to the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at (888) 674-6854, a toll-free line.
Not the first beef recall
Recalls like this one have become familiar. A year earlier, a ground beef E. coli outbreak tied to the HelloFresh meal kit service made at least seven people ill. In April 2022, New Jersey-based Lakeside Refrigerated Services recalled over 120,000 pounds of ground beef over possible contamination.
The scale of the industry is part of the picture. The U.S. is the world’s top beef producer, and beef made up 53.5% of all meat eaten in America as of 2022. The industry was projected to earn $20 billion in 2023.
What cooks can do
Raw ground beef should reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit to kill bacteria, so a meat thermometer is worth owning. Hands should be washed thoroughly after touching animals or bathroom surfaces, and before handling food. Anyone who feels ill after eating beef should consult a doctor.
