Holiday cooks are facing more than the usual angst of having enough propane or charcoal to fuel the grills to feed the crowds. Now they have to worry whether they will be serving a potentially lethal strain of E. coli with their charred burgers.
Before people toss meat on the coals, they'd better ensure that the ground beef they're using wasn't bought at Kroger, Fred Meyer or QFC.
Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture told Kroger that its supplier, Nebraska Beef Ltd., has been identified as the source of ground beef products linked to an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that sickened three dozen people in Ohio and Michigan.
The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service said more than a half-million pounds of ground beef from the Omaha-based meat processor may be contaminated with the potentially deadly toxin.
The food-safety inspectors ordered a Class 1 recall for the meat, which means "there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death."
Kroger, the parent company of the other two grocery chains, said Tuesday that contaminated beef had been distributed to its stores in 20 other states, including in the Pacific Northwest.
The company said it had pulled all the questionable beef off its shelves and added that anyone who bought the meat from Kroger, QFC or Fred Meyer with a "sell by" date between May 21 and July 5 should not eat the ground beef or products made from it.
Kroger said it is also recalling ground beef under the "Private Selection Natural" label. Kroger said the "sell by" dates on that product were listed as July 11 through July 21. The recall does not include ground beef sold in sealed tubes in 1-, 3- or 5-pound packages and frozen ground beef patties sold in the frozen-food section of its stores.
Trying to determine which of the meat products should be returned to the stores or tossed out is a mazelike puzzle with "sell by" dates and packaging descriptions "changing by the moment," a Kroger customer service agent said.
Consumers face trying to weave through a lengthy list of products and packaging and then interpret the dates printed in tiny type on the packages of chopped meat to decide whether it's safe to cook and serve.
One of the chains -- QFC -- adds a bizarre twist to the recall. "Although QFC does not carry Nebraska Beef products, some products may have come in contact with ground beef included in the recall," said Kristin Maas, QFC director of public affairs. She tried to clarify that statement by explaining that QFC's meat was processed in a facility "in our area" that also handled the recalled product, but Maas said she wouldn't identify that site.
However, investigators from FSIS were undertaking an "effectiveness check," where they attempt to identify every place where the Nebraska Beef products were handled or processed before they reached store shelves.
"We have investigators out in the field now contacting the recipients of the recalled products and ensuring that they were properly notified and have appropriately disposed of the recalled products," said Amanda Eamich.
At this point, the government can't be sure that Kroger was the only chain that received the recalled meat.
"Part of the effectiveness check is to determine whether others stores got this product," Eamich said.
Symptoms of E. coli infection can include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, vomiting and fever. Most people recover within five to seven days. Health officials urge people to thoroughly cook hamburger and, if possible, use a digital thermometer to make sure meat has been heated to at least 160 degrees.
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