E coli outbreak leads to beef recall

A New York meat producer known as Fairbank Farms issued a voluntary recall Saturday for 545,699 pounds of ground beef products after its products were suspected to be the source of an outbreak of E. coli infection.

The outbreak has sickened 28 people and killed two, one in New Hampshire and another in upstate New York.

The victim in New Hampshire contracted hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious condition often preceded by an episode of diarrhea caused by E. coli O157:H7.

The New Yorker, an adult from Albany County, had reportedly suffered a number of underlying health problems, the AP reported.

The products being recalled are distributed to Trader Joe’s, Giant, Price Chopper, Wild Harvest and Shaw’s in eight states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Agnes Schafer a spokeswoman for Fairbank Farms, based out of Ashville, N.Y. was cited as saying that no products had yet tested positive for the pathogenic E coli and no tests had proved its products were the source of the outbreak.

Schafer was also cited as saying that there should be no more beef products of concern on grocery store shelves because the recalled beef products were 23 to 32 days past their sell-by dates as of Monday.

Most strains of E coli are harmless and only indicative of potential contamination. However, E. coli O157:H7 is the strain that often causes illness.

By David Liu