Nebraska-based All American Meats has issued a recall of 167,427 pounds of ground beef products over suspected E.coli contamination.
The ground beef products, which were produced on 16 October, are feared to have been adulterated with E. coli O157:H7, according to the US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
The recalled products carry establishment number "EST. 20420", which is present inside the USDA inspection mark. The recalled items were shipped to retail locations across the nation in 60 and 80-pound boxes and carry a 3 November sell-by date.
The suspected contamination was discovered on 30 October when an in-commerce surveillance program test conducted by FSIS for E.coli resulted in positive. The test traced the contamination to the company. So far, there have been no reports of illnesses linked to the contaminated products.
Consumers, who have purchased the recalled product, have been urged by the company to discard them or return to the place of purchase.
E. coli O157:H7 is a bacterium that can cause potential damage with symptoms such as dehydration, bloody diarrhea, stomach cramps.
FSIS has adviced consumers to consume ground beef that has been cooked to temperature of 160° F.
USDA spokeswoman Kristen Felicione said that the agency will publish information of the states concerned with the recall within next week, reported USA Today.
