An E. coli outbreak that has sickened six people in Washington, US has led to a federal consumer alert for ground beef products made by Interstate Meats, based in Oregon, US.
The illnesses were reported in late July and the first week of August. In addition to Washington, two cases connected to the company?s products have been reported in Oregon.
The Washington cases included one child and five adults in King, Island and Clallam counties. Two people were hospitalized and have since recovered.
The alert was ordered by the U.S. Food Safety Inspection Service for products sold under the brand name, “Northwest Finest.” The products subject to this public health alert include:
16-ounce packages of “Northwest Finest 7% FAT, NATURAL GROUND BEEF.” The label bears a UPC code of 752907 600127.
16-ounce packages of “Northwest Finest 10% FAT, Organic GROUND BEEF.” No UPC code is available.
Each package also bears the establishment number “Est. 965” inside the U.S. Department of Agriculture mark of inspection as well as a sell-by date between August 1 and August 11.
The ground beef products were produced on various dates between July 19 and July 30 and distributed in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. The affected products were available for sale at Safeway, QFC, and Fred Meyer locations in Washington. This ground beef may have been available at other stores, so all consumers are advised to check their freezers for these products.
Although these products should no longer be available for purchase, consumers may have purchased them when they were on store shelves and may still have them in their freezers. Any frozen ground beef should be checked and discarded as necessary.
E. coli O157 causes mild to severe intestinal illness and may cause serious kidney complications. Symptoms include diarrhea, which may contain blood; abdominal cramping, and vomiting.
As the Labor Day weekend approaches, remember that to prevent illness, do not eat raw or undercooked hamburger or other ground beef products. Cooking will kill bacteria before they can make you sick. A hamburger cooked to 160? F is safe to eat.
Other safety tips include:
– Use a thermometer to check the cooking temperature. Looking for a brown color inside a hamburger is not a reliable way of making sure it is done.
– Carefully wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after touching raw hamburger or other raw meat.
– Do not let raw meat juices touch other foods or work surfaces. When raw meat juices do get on cutting boards or countertops, they must be thoroughly washed to prevent spreading bacteria around the kitchen. Also, do not slice vegetables, fruits or other foods that will be eaten raw with the same knife used to cut raw meat unless the knife has been thoroughly cleaned.