The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that one death was reported from New Hampshire and the other from New York. The two victims were cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome, which causes kidney failure.
Product recalled
The beef in question was manufactured by a company based in western New York. The company, Fairbank Farms, has already issued a voluntary recall for 545,699 pounds of ground beef products Saturday.
"We're assisting our customers in conducting this recall, and continue to urge consumers to check their freezers for ground beef products that are listed in the recall," said CEO Ron Allen in a news release.
It has been learnt that the tainted beef, which is in form of either ground beef or packaged beef patties, was made between Sept. 14 and Sept. 16 and primarily distributed in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States.
The products were stamped “EST 492” on the label and were sent largely to Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Past expiration date
The contaminated products are at least 23 days past their expiration date, which means that they are no longer being sold as fresh by the shop owners. The concern, however, is the beef that has made way into the homes of the consumers.
"Any customers from northeastern or mid-Atlantic states who have identified recalled ground beef products should remove the product from their freezers and return it to their stores for full reimbursement," Ashville, New York based Fairbank Farms said.
Some of the retail stores which received beef tainted with E-Coli include Trader Joe’s, Giant, Price Chopper, Wild Harvest and Shaw’s.
The magnitude of the E.Coli spread was uncovered when the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service was investigating a cluster of illnesses in Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts.
“To this day contamination problems are not found by any checks on the products by companies. They’re found when people get sick, and that’s a failure in the system,” rued Donna Rosenbaum, executive director of Safe Tables Our Priority, a food safety organization.
Symptoms of E. Coli
A person infected with E. coli O157:H7 can experience a wide range of symptoms, starting from mild intestinal discomfort. At its worst, the potentially lethal bacteria can lead to death.
While scrupulous cooking can eliminate E. coli O157:H7, the bacteria is hazardous even in microscopic doses. It can multiply in no time and can be spread from utensils or cooking surfaces to other foods.
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