Earlier this month, an Omaha, Nebraska-based company began a nationwide recall of over 167,000 pounds of potentially contaminated ground beef products.
According to the Food Safety and Inspection Service, a division of the Department of Agriculture, All American Meats, Inc. may have released products to the marketplace that were contaminated with the bacterial infection E. coli.
The products in question were ground beef items produced on Oct. 16. All of the products that are part of the recall are marked with the establishment number 20420. The number is located within the USDA inspection mark.
The problem was first discovered Oct. 30, when a specimen tested positive for E. coli. The in-commerce surveillance system used by FSIS to test product traced the ground beef back to All American Meats.
As of the date of the announcement, there were no confirmed reports of any adverse reactions caused from consumption of the ground beef products. However, there are concerns that some contaminated product might have been frozen and stored in consumers’ freezers.
E. coli can cause bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramps and dehydration. Symptoms last on average from three to four days. Others can suffer for more than a week after being exposed to the organism.
One of the most serious potential consequences of an E. coli infection is hemolytic uremic syndrome. That’s a kind of kidney failure most commonly found in senior citizens and children four and younger. Symptoms of HUS include pale complexion, easy bruising and decreased urine output. Anyone experiencing those symptoms should immediately seek emergency medical care.
In the event you are sickened from contaminated foods in a recall, you may be able to file a claim for damages against the company that manufactured the product.
Source: United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service, “All American Meats, Inc. Recalls Ground Beef Products Due to Possible E. Coli O157:H7 Contamination,” Nov. 01, 2015