WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, 2018 – Cargill Meat Solutions, a Fort Morgan, Colo. establishment, is recalling approximately 132,606 pounds of ground beef products made from the chuck portion of the carcass that may be contaminated with Escherichia coli O26, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday the beef was produced and packaged at Cargill Meat Solutions in Fort Morgan on June 21 and shipped to retailers nationwide. FSIS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and state public health and agriculture partners determined that raw ground beef was the probable source of the reported illnesses. Most people infected with STEC O26 develop diarrhea (often bloody) and vomiting. Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a type of kidney failure, is common with STEC O26 infection. They advise throwing the products away or returning them to the location of purchase.
– A Colorado meatpacker is recalling more than 132,000 pounds of ground beef after a suspected E. coli outbreak killed one person and sickened 17, officials said. The US Department of Agriculture said Wednesday the beef was produced and packaged at Cargill Meat Solutions in Fort Morgan on June 21 and shipped to retailers nationwide. The products include 3-, 10- and 20-pound packages of ground beef under the Our Certified, Excel, Sterling Silver, Certified, and Fire River Farms brands with July 11 use or freeze by dates. Regulators warned that people should also check for the products in their freezers. They advise throwing the products away or returning them to the location of purchase, the AP reports. In a statement on Thursday, Cargill said all of the affected products have been removed from supermarkets. Food safety teams are reviewing the Fort Morgan facility and others "to ensure we continue to deliver safe food," the statement said. "We were distressed to learn a fatality may be related to an E.coli contamination of one of our products," it said. "Our hearts go out to the families and individuals affected by this issue." The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service did not release information about the people who died or became ill, including locations. The Cargill plant had a smaller recall of Excel ground beef in August, but no illnesses had been reported at that time. The USDA's recall info can be found in full here.