Canadian Recall Expands to Ground Beef Sold in Washington Stores

A large Canadian beef recall related to E. coli has expanded to the U.S., including beef products sold at various retailers in Washington state.

On Saturday, Safeway announced it was voluntarily recalling a long list of ground beef items that included trimmings that were part of the recall of XL Foods Inc. of Canada. Safeway’s recall covered Washington, Oregon and Montana.

In its statement, Safeway said:

No illnesses have been reported to date. Safeway is issuing this recall out of an abundance of caution.

The recalled products have Sell By dates of 09-07-12 to 09-23-12. Safeway is asking its customers to check all ground beef in their refrigerators and freezers.

Haggen Northwest Fresh also voluntarily recalled ground beef products and urged consumers to check their homes for the products and return them to the store for a refund.

And on Monday, Albertsons also issued a recall.

Here’s some more detail about the recall from Food Safety News, including a link to the full list of recalled products (scroll down to “US Recalls”).

From the USDA’s post about the recall:

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration, and in the most severe cases, kidney failure. The very young, seniors and persons with weak immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness.
(Food Safety and Inspection Service) advises all consumers to safely prepare their raw meat products, including fresh and frozen, and only consume ground beef that has been cooked to a temperature of 160 degrees. The only way to confirm that ground beef is cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria is to use a food thermometer that measures internal temperature.