CO Company Recalls Ground Beef For Harmful E. Coli O157:H7 Contamination

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 1999--King Soopers, Inc., a Denver, Colo., meat processing company, is voluntarily recalling approximately 24,000 pounds of ground beef that may be contaminated with a harmful strain of E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.

King Soopers is recalling all ground beef and ground beef products with a "sell-by" date of Oct. 5. All King Soopers and City Market product labels bear "EST 6250" within the USDA seal of inspection. The products include one and five pound packages of ground beef and approximately one pound packages of chili meat and ground chuck.

The product was produced Sept. 28 and distributed to King Soopers and City Markets throughout the state of Colorado and to City Markets in Moab, Utah, Rawlins, Wyo., and Ship Rock, N.M.

USDA discovered the problem after ground beef sampled at a Louisville, Colo. retail store tested positive for E. coli O157:H7.

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacteria that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. The very young, the elderly, and persons with compromised immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness.

"Because of the potential hazard of foodborne illness from consumption of undercooked or underprocessed meat products contaminated with harmful pathogens, we urge consumers who have purchased the suspect product not to eat it and return it to the place of purchase," said Thomas J. Billy, administrator of USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service. "USDA is informing the public so consumers who may have purchased and stored product in their freezers can know to check," Billy said.

At this point, FSIS has received no reports of illness associated with these products. Anyone concerned about an illness should contact a physician immediately.

Consumers with questions about the recall may phone King Soopers, Inc.'s customer service department at 1-800-632-6900.

Consumers with food safety questions can phone the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-800-535-4555. The Hotline can be reached from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday.

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NOTE: Access news releases and other information at the FSIS Web site on the World Wide Web at http://www.fsis.usda.gov

NOTE TO EDITORS: Media inquiries to the company should be directed to:

• Rhonda Bever, City Market, (970) 241-0750, ext. 1071

• Phyllis Norris, City Market, (970) 241-0750, ext. 1068

• Bob Nourse, King Soopers, (303) 778-3319

• Mike Dempster, King Soopers, (303) 778-3016