Ground beef recalled over E. coli death

New York company linked to illnesses from eating tainted meat

ASHVILLE, N.Y. – A New York meat company has recalled almost 546,000 pounds of ground beef because, according to health officials, contaminated meat has caused illness and one death.

A New Hampshire resident died and two others were hospitalized after consuming ground beef that may have been tainted by bacteria that can cause diarrhea, dehydration and kidney failure.

The death was connected to the recall of ground beef products by Fairbank Farms, of Ashville, New York. The U.S. Agriculture Department said it became aware the meat might be tainted by E. coli O157:H7 bacteria during an investigation of a cluster of food-borne illnesses in New England.

New Hampshire officials announced the death on Saturday but did not release information about the victim. Two other New Hampshire residents have been hospitalized, they said.

USDA said it worked with health officials and “determined that there is an association between the fresh ground beef products subject to recall and illnesses in Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts.”

A string of food-borne safety scares led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass legislation this summer to require more inspections and oversight of food manufacturers and would give the government new authority to order recalls.

Fairbank Farms announced the recall on Saturday. The beef was produced in mid-September and probably was labeled for sale before the end of the month, said USDA. It went to retailers in eight states including Trader Joes, Price Chopper, Lancaster and Wild Harvest, Shaw’s, a unit of Supervalu, BJ’s,F ord Brothers and Giant, a unit of Ahold. The ground beef packaged under the Fairbank Farms name was distributed to stores in Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and was likely repackaged for sale.

The federal agency says the ground beef was sold at numerous retail stores. Each package carried the number “EST. 492″ on the label.

For a complete list of retailers, consumers can check the USDA Web site.

source: www.msnbc.com