WASHINGTON — Dozens of ground beef products sold nationwide have been recalled because of possible E. coli contamination, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
The Monday announcement explained that products sold by Lakeside Refrigerated Services out of New Jersey may have been contaminated with the bacteria.
The recall includes around 120,872 pounds of ground beef produced from Feb. 1 through April 8, 2022. A complete list of the more than 40 affected products is available here. Labels for those products can be found here. The recalled ground beef was sold under a number of different brand names including Thomas Farms, Nature's Reserve and Marketside Butcher.
All of the products affected by the recall have an establishment number “EST. 46841” inside the USDA mark of inspection.
No reports of illness related to the recalled beef have been reported, and the issue was discovered through routine testing of imported products conducted by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service.
The specific strain of E. coli that triggered this recall is labeled as O103, a harder-to-identify variant than more common strains.
Symptoms of E. coli typically appear around three to four days after consumption and last for about a week. They include diarrhea (sometimes including bloody stool) and vomiting. Some illnesses can last longer and be more severe.
There is also a risk of kidney failure associated with the O103 strain of bacteria, especially for children under 5, older people or those with compromised immune systems.
The USDA is urging anybody who has recently bought ground beef to check their fridges and freezers for possibly contaminated products. Recalled beef should be thrown out or returned to where they were bought from.