FRANKLIN PARK, IL — Health officials say 177 people across 10 states have fallen ill with a strain of E. coli, and two companies are now recalling thousands of pounds of meat. Of the reported E. coli infections, 65 were in Kentucky, 52 were in Tennessee and 41 were in Georgia. Ohio had 10, Florida had three and Viriginia had two, while Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota and Mississippi each had a single case, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Twenty-one people had to be hospitalized in all. No deaths have been reported.
The infected patients included some who’d eaten the meat since March 1. Officials haven’t identified a supplier, distributor or brand of beef has been identified.
Grant Park Packing in Franklin Park recalled about 53,000 pounds of raw ground beef Wednesday that might be contaminated, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said. K2D Foods, doing business as Colorado Premium Foods, in Carrollton, Georgia, recalled about 113,000 pounds of raw ground beef.
The Grant Park beef was distributed in bulk and produced Oct. 30 through Nov. 1, health officials said. The beef came in 40-pound cardboard boxes labeled “North Star Imports & Sales, LLC. 100% GROUND BEEF BULK 80% LEAN/ 20% FAT.”
The boxes were marked “FOR INSTITUTIONAL USE ONLY” with lot code GP.1051.18. The recalled products have the establishment number “EST. 21781” inside the USDA mark of inspection. They were shipped to Minnesota for further distribution and Kentucky for institutional use.
The K2D recalled products were sold in two 24-pound vacuum-sealed packages in cardboard boxes containing raw “GROUND BEEF PUCK” with use by dates of April 14, April 17, April 20, April 23, April 28 and April 30.
Recalled products were labeled with the establishment number “EST. 51308” inside the USDA mark of inspection.
Federal health officials have been investigating the outbreak along with the Kentucky health officials. Unopened and intact packages of beef they collected tested positive for E. coli O103, the recall notice said. The sample was taken from a point of service where multiple infected patients ate.
Restaurants, retailers and institutions should not sell the recalled meat, the CDC said. The infected at the meat both at home and in restaurants.
“Traceback investigations are ongoing to determine the source of ground beef supplied to grocery stores and other locations where ill people reported eating,’ the CDC said.
Escherichia coli, abbreviated as E. coli, are bacteria found in the environment, food and intestines of people and animals. While most strains are harmless, others can make you sick with symptoms such as diarrhea. Others can cause urinary tract infections, respiratory illness and pneumonia, and other illnesses.
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