Beef Recall: 6.5M Pounds Of Product Recalled In Georgia, U.S.

Certain JBS Tolleson beef products sold in Georgia could be contaminated with Salmonella Newport, according to federal agriculture officials. The Arizona company is recalling about 6.5 million pounds of various raw, non-intact beef products, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Thursday.

The products, including ground beef, were packaged between July 26 and Sept. 7.

The beef was shipped to retailers and institutions across the country, including Georgia. The products have the establishment number “EST. 267” inside the USDA mark of inspection, officials said.

Here are the items that were distributed to Georgia:

• Cedar River Farms Natural Beef
• Grass Run Farms Natural Beef
• Showcase

Click here to see the full list of recalled items. Here are the labels.

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service learned Sept. 5 that investigators were looking into Salmonella Newport illnesses. The agency later traced the illnesses to ground beef products.

Various federal and state health officials later concluded that raw ground beef probably caused people to fall ill and JBS was the common supplier.

An investigation revealed 57 people spanning 16 states became sickened by the meat between Aug. 5 and Sept. 6.

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.

“These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” the USDA said.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

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