Voluntary Beef Recall Expands

A meat supplier expanded a voluntary recall of ground beef products because they may be contaminated with E.coli.

United Food Group LLC said in a statement it expanded the recall of 75,000 pounds of ground beef to include an additional 370,000 pounds based on “unspecified concerns” raised by the California State Department of Health Services.

The recalled products were shipped to grocery stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. They were sold under brand names Moran’s All Natural, Miller Meat Co., Stater Bros., Inter-American Products Inc., and Basha’s.

The grocery stores affected included Albertson’s, Basha’s, Grocery Outlet, Fry’s, “R” Ranch Markets, Save-A-Lot, Save-Mart, Scolari’s Wholesale Markets, Smart and Final, Smith’s, Stater Bros., and Superior Warehouse.

Meanwhile, Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. recalled more than 40,000 pounds of ground beef shipped to Wal-Mart stores in 12 states after samples tested at a Sherman, Texas, plant showed signs of E. coli contamination.

No illnesses had been reported. The recalled products were sent to Wal-Mart stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas, Tyson said.

Wal-Mart has removed the products from its meat cases and is destroying the recalled ground beef still in its possession, officials said.

Tyson recalled 40,440 pounds of ground beef, all of which had sell-by dates of June 13. The ground beef was sold in prepackaged trays that were placed directly into the meat case.

Springdale-based Tyson Foods Inc. said the recall is not related to contaminated ground beef distributed by California-based United Food Group LLC.

“Our company’s paramount concern is for the safety and health of consumers who have purchased our products, and we have been working closely with the USDA and the California Department of Health Services to ensure that this additional recall is completed successfully,” said Todd Waldman, senior vice president for United Food Group.

The United Foods products had sell-by dates from April 29-May 6, and product labels carried the establishment number “EST. 1241” inside the USDA mark of inspection or printed on the package.

The United Foods products in the expanded recall were produced on April 13 at the company’s Vernon facility, while those in the original were produced on April 20.