IMPORTANT!!

Recall Release CLASS I RECALL
FSIS-RC-025-2007 HEALTH RISK: HIGH

Congressional and Public Affairs
(202) 720-9113
Steven Cohen

WASHINGTON, June 9, 2007 - United Food Group, LLC, a Vernon, Calif., establishment, is voluntarily expanding its June 3 and 6 recalls to include a total of approximately 5.7 million pounds of both fresh and frozen ground beef products produced between April 6 and April 20 because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.

The recall is being expanded out of an abundance of caution following a positive test of fresh ground beef subject to this recall provided by a patient in Arizona. This tested product was sold under a major grocery store label, as opposed to a pre-packaged chub shipped from the recalling firm.

An investigation carried out by the California Department of Health Services and the Colorado Department of Health, in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, preceded the recall of June 3. Illnesses occurred in Arizona (6), California (3), Colorado (2), Idaho (1), Utah (1) and Wyoming (1). Illness onset dates ranged between April 25 and May 18. All patients have recovered.

Based on product shelf life, fresh beef products produced on April 20 would no longer have been sold in grocery stores after May 11. Fresh beef produced before April 20 and would have been unavailable in stores even earlier. However, these products could be in consumers’ freezers and it is important that consumers look for and return these products if they find them.

The fresh and frozen ground beef products subject to recall were produced between April 6 and April 20 and were shipped to retail stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. The very young, seniors and persons with compromised immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness.

Consumers with questions about the recall should contact company Customer Service Representative James Turner at (800) 325-4164. Media with questions about the recall should contact company Vice-President for Sales and Marketing Brian Levy at (323) 588-5286.

In addition to specific products bearing labels from the manufacturer, some fresh ground beef, from 73 percent lean to 96 percent lean, was shipped in bulk and sold under different retail brand names. Several types of fresh ground beef patties, from 6.25 ounces to 7.25 ounces, were also shipped to retailers and sold under retail brand names. Consumers in the states of distribution should check with their local retailers to determine whether they may have purchased any of the products subject to recall that were marketed in this way.

The labels of the products subject to recall bear the establishment number “EST. 1241” inside the USDA mark of inspection or printed on the package. All of the products bear a use-by/sell-by date between “APR/15/07” and “May/07/07,” a freeze-by date between “APR/23/07” and “May/07/07,” or a production date between “APR/06/07” and “APR/20/07.” The frozen ground beef patty products bear a sell-by date between “08/06/07” and “01/20/08.”


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