HFX Corp. announced that the company has issued a voluntary recall for 259,230 pounds of beef products due to a possible contamination with E. coli 0157 bacteria. The United States Department of Agriculture announced the recall late Friday.
“Late Thursday, we learned that there had been a positive test for the bacteria in Eastern Pennsylvania,” said John H. Brown, president of HFX Corp., a meat processing plant located in Claysburg, PA.
“As soon as we learned of the positive test, we immediately began recalling the affected products and are well on our way to seeing that all of it is removed from the consumer pipeline. For example, all beef being recalled has already been removed from our Hoss’s Steak and Sea House restaurants.”
HFX began aggressively recalling the beef products immediately after learning of the single positive test because, according to Brown, “the well being of our customers is our number one priority. Although the recall was voluntary, the USDA facilitated the recall’s speed by sharing their expertise and working in close cooperation with us. We also worked closely and productively with the Pennsylvania Department of Health.”
According to the Pennsylvania State Department of Health, five cases of E. coli 0157:H7 were diagnosed in York, Dauphin, Centre and Venango counties in late March. None of the patients are hospitalized and all have recovered.
“Because the number of cases is small and the exposure period was several weeks ago, the health department believes the risk to Hoss’s customers is low,” said an official Pennsylvania Department of Health press release issued late today. Although HFX is affiliated with the Hoss’s restaurant chain, the facility also processes beef for a large variety of wholesale and restaurant customers.