Carrolton, Georgia-based K2D Foods, doing business as Colorado Premium Foods, and Franklin Park, Illinois-based Grant Park Packing, are recalling a combined 166,625 pounds of raw ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O103. The announcements were made by the Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service.
K2D is recalling 113,424 pounds of ground beef produced on March 26 and 29, as well as April 2,5,10, and 12. The beef was shipped to distributors in Florida and Georgia for restaurant sales.
Grant Park Packing is recalling approximately 53,200 pounds of ground beef produced on October 30-31 and November 1, 2018. The product was shipped to Minnesota for further distribution, and Kentucky for institutional use.
FSIS and its public health partners, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with state health agencies, have been investigating an outbreak of E. coli O103. According to FSIS, ground beef collected as part of the ongoing investigation from a restaurant where multiple customers reported dining, tested positive for E. coli O103. At this time, there is no definitive link between this positive product and the ongoing outbreak.
Further traceback and product analysis will continue. Many clinical laboratories do not test for non-O157 STEC, such as O103 because it is harder to identify than STEC O157:H7. People can become ill from STECs 2–8 days after exposure to the organism.
