A USDA ground beef recall has been issued for more than 167,000 pounds of meat produced at a Nebraska plant after routine testing found traces of E. coli bacteria in some samples.
All American Meats Inc. of Omaha sold the tainted ground beef to retailers around the country in 60- and 80-pound boxes after producing it on
Oct. 16, according to the Omaha World-Herald. The U.S. Department of Agriculture discovered the E. coli bacteria during routine testing Friday.
The USDA said in a statement that that the recalled packages all have a "sell by" date of Nov. 3 with the case codes 62100, 60100, 68560, 68160, 63130, and 63100. There have not been any confirmed reports of sickness related to the meat so far, the agency said.
"[The Food Safety and Inspection Service] and the company are concerned that some product may be frozen and in consumers' freezers," the USDA statement reads. "Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase."
All American Meats, which has been in business since 1996, recalled 82,929 pounds of ground beef in 1999 after a sample found at a Jewel Food Store warehouse in Chicago was found to be contaminated with E. coli, according to the World-Herald.
The E. coli (Escherichia coli) bacteria normally live in the intestines of people and animals, but they are pathogenic, meaning they can cause illness outside of the
intestinal tract, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"The types of E. coli that can cause diarrhea can be transmitted through contaminated water or food, or through contact with animals or persons," the CDC website reported. "E. coli consists of a diverse group of bacteria . . . Six pathotypes are associated with diarrhea and collectively are referred to as diarrheagenic E. coli."
The World-Herald reported that one of the largest beef recalls in Nebraska history came in 2008 when Nebraska Beef Ltd. recalled 5.3 million pounds of beef. That meat was connected to 49 E. coli illnesses in seven states, the newspaper noted.