Salmonella Outbreak In IL: 12 Million Pounds Of Beef Recalled

ILLINOIS — For the third time since October, Arizona-based JBS Tolleson Inc. has expanded a recall of beef products due to a salmonella Newport outbreak that has sickened at least 246 people in 25 states, including Illinois.

The latest numbers from the CDC released on Nov. 15 indicated one person had been sickened by the outbreak in Illinois.

On Tuesday, another five million pounds of beef was added to the recall.

Related: Beef Recall: 6.5M lbs Of Product Recalled In Illinois, Elsewhere

"The scope of this recall expansion now includes an additional 5,156,076 pounds of raw beef products, which were produced and packed from July 26, 2018 to Sept. 7, 2018," the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said in the recall notice. " FSIS is concerned that some product may be frozen and in consumers’ freezers. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase."

FSIS added, "The products subject to recall bear establishment number ‘EST. 267’ inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to retail locations and institutions nationwide.”

Consumers with questions on the recall can contact the JBS USA Consumer Hotline at (800) 727-2333.

The extensive, full list of recalled products can be found here. In Illinois, Showcase ground chuck with production dates of 9/20/2018 and 9/13/2018 are part of the recall, as well as Grass Run Farms natural beef with a 9/17/2018 production date.

The recall issued in October included these products distributed in Illinois:

• Grass Run Farms natural beef
  • Production date: 8/28/2018
• Showcase
  • Production date: 8/21/2018
  • Production date: 8/24/2018

Food contaminated with Salmonella can cause salmonellosis, a common bacterial foodborne illness. Common symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever within hours or days of eating the tainted food. People can remain sick for up to a week, though most recover without treatment.

Some people can become so sick as to need hospitalization. Older adults, babies and people with weak immune systems are most likely to develop a severe illness, the agency said. Officials are worried people may have the recalled beef stored in their freezers.

FSIS advises all consumers to safely prepare their raw meat products, including fresh and frozen, and only consume ground beef that has been cooked to a temperature of 160 degrees. Other cuts of beef should be cooked to a temperature of 145 degrees and allowed to rest for at least three minutes. The only way to confirm that ground beef or other cuts of beef are cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria is to use a food thermometer that measures internal temperature.

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