Tyson Ground Beef Recall: E. Coli Food Poisoning Risk

About 130,000 pounds of Tyson ground beef is being recalled after at least four children in Ohio fell ill from E. coli food poisoning. 

The Tyson ground beef recall was announced on September 27 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) after Ohio Department of Health officials tracked the children’s illnesses to Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. ground beef contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. Two of the children were hospitalized due to E. coli food poisoning.

The contaminated ground beef was sold at Kroger, Food Lion, SAV-A-LOT and Supervalu supermarkets, as well as through Spectrum Foods and the Defense Commissary Agency. All of the meat was produced at a Tyson plant in Emporia, Kansas on August 23.

The meat that caused the children’s illness was purchased at Kroger. Store officials say all of that meat was off of the shelves by September 12 due to its production date.

The recall affects 5-pound chubs of Kroger-brand “GROUND BEEF 73% LEAN – 27% FAT” shipped to distribution centers in Indiana and Tennessee in 40-pound cases with the product code D-0211 QW; 3-pound chubs of Butcher’s Brand “GROUND BEEF 73% LEAN – 27% FAT” shipped to distribution centers in North Carolina and South Carolina in 36-pound cases with the product code D-0211 LWIF; and 3-pound chubs of a generic label “GROUND BEEF 73% LEAN – 27% FAT” shipped to distribution centers in Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin in 36-pound cases with the product code D-0211 LWI. All of the meat was produced on August 23, 2011, and has a Best Before or Freeze By date of SEP 12 2011 and an establishment number of 245D on the package seam.

E. coli O157:H7 is one of the more common causes of food poisoning in the United States. When left untreated, it can lead to dehydration and potentially life-threatening illness. While most healthy adults recover from food poisoning caused by E. coli within a few weeks, young children and the elderly could be at risk for more severe illness. If the toxin enters the blood stream, E. coli could also lead to kidney failure known as Hemolytic-Urenia Syndrome (HUS).