Tainted ground beef recalled

A northwestern Illinois meatpacker, Valley Meats LLC of Coal Valley is recalling nearly 96,000 pounds of its ground beef products, after some E. coli cases turned up in Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

What to look for in the ground beef recall
The company says the ground beef was processed at its plant on March 10th and distributed to independent institutions in eleven states in 10-pound to 40-pound packages.

The brands included in the recall are 3-S, Grillmaster, J and B, Klub, Thick 'n Savory, Ultimate and more than a dozen generic brands.The ground beef recall covers meat that has the establishment number “EST. 5712″ inside the USDA mark of inspection on the packaging.

The tainted beef, some frozen and some refrigerated, was distributed in bulk nationwide, and the FDA has sent notification to stores and schools.

Regions of the outbreak
Sickness associated with E. coli was first discovered after a concentrated outbreak of the bacteria related illness was reported in Ohio. Since then, illnesses believed to be connected to the contaminated meat have been found in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.

The federal officials were informed by the Ohio Department of Health last week when a 3-year-old girl, a 24-year-old man and a 71-year-old man with no connection to one another were ill from E. coli bacteria with the same genetic fingerprint.

Department spokesman Kristopher Weiss says two of the three were hospitalized and all are now recovered.

E. Coli Symptoms
E. coli is short for Escherichia coli – a, bacteria (germ) that causes severe cramps and bloody diarrhea, dehydration and sometimes kidney failure. It may cause a mild fever, nausea or vomiting. The symptoms are worse in children and older people, and especially in people who have another illness.

The most common way to get this infection is by eating contaminated food or meat that is not cooked properly. When you eat undercooked beef, the germs go into your stomach and intestines.