 "Photo: Daniela Trujillo/The Daily Texan")
H-E-B grocery stores issued a recall of several of its beef products this week because of a possible E. coli contamination.
“Our suppliers told us they had concerns about their product,” said H-E-B spokeswoman Leslie Lockett. “So we automatically pull the product as a precaution.”
Lockett said there have been no reported illnesses or complaints by their customers.
JBS Swift Beef Company, a nationwide beef
distributor based in Colorado and one of the principal suppliers for H-E-B grocery stores, announced a voluntary recall of about 41,280 pounds of beef after the USDA linked illnesses to beef produced in one of its Colorado plants at the end of last month, said company spokesman Chandler Keys.
The company expanded the voluntary recall to include nearly 380,000 pounds of beef four days later as an extra precaution.
“There is always a risk [when consuming beef], we need to mitigate it,” Keys said. “Companies like ours [need] to do all we can to keep E. coli out of the meat.”
The harmful strain of E. coli that was found in the beef supplied by the Colorado company is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and possible kidney failure. It is capable of residing in beef, unpasteurized milk and vegetables.
The USDA labeled the recall as a Class I, which means that it is a “health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences,” according to its Web site.
The risk of E. coli can be negated if beef is properly cooked, according to the USDA Web site.
The highest risk of E. coli illness occurs from eating ground beef. Shredding or grinding meat brings the bacteria from the outside to the inside, meaning that ground beef must be cooked throughout, Keys said.
“The pathogen is always on the outside [of the meat], so as soon as you put a steak on the grill it will kill the bacteria,” Keys said. “With ground beef, though, unless you cook it to 160 degrees internally, you run a risk.”
The recall is just one of several E. coli contaminations in recent months. In June, Nestlé pulled all of its Toll House cookie dough products from the shelves after a positive E. coli detection by the FDA during an investigation prompted by more than 70 E.coli-related illnesses.
St. Edwards biology senior Cambria McCabe said common knowledge and some precaution are all that’s needed to eat meat safely.
“I might be a little leery of buying meat from them in the next week or so, but really as long as you take the time to fully cook your meat you should be fine, “ McCabe said. “If you cook it all the way through at the proper temperature, it is unlikely the bacteria can survive.”
The list of recalled products can be found on H-E-B’s Web site. Any recalled products can be taken to any H-E-B location for a full refund or replacement.
“We take our customers health and safety as our number-one priority,” Lockett said.
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