USDA Recalls Over 40,000 Pounds of Beef due to E.Coli
Forty-three thousand pounds of raw beef produced by Lakeside Refrigerated Services in New Jersey was recalled due to E.coli contamination. The beef was produced on June 1 and sold at Wal-mart. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced the recall on Saturday.
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FSIS is concerned that some product may be in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers…Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.”
The beef tested positive for E. coli O157: H7, a strain of E.coli that is responsible for 36% of the more than 265,000 STEC (Shiga toxin-producing E. coli) infections in the U.S. every year. The FSIS found the bacteria through routine testing and has not confirmed any adverse reactions to the contaminated beef.
The USDA recalled almost 700,000 pounds of beef in 2019. Previous years saw recalls of 13 million (2018) and 900,000 (2017) pounds of beef. In another year this recall would not be a big deal. However, the meat processing industry is still reeling from coronavirus and labor processing, and it is unclear how recalls will affect the food supply chain in 2020.