Planning on eating a hamburger this weekend? If you bought ground beef at a Kroger store (and they're the parent company for several grocery chains across the country, listed below the fold), you might want to think twice about that. The company is recalling beef included in a 523,000 lb recall by Nebraska Beef, with all participants down the line stonewalling, or lacking information, about where it went.
The USDA's Food Safety & Inspection Service's Roger Sockman just told me that he "can't confirm or deny" the story that a New Albany woman was sickened in relation to the outbreak, and that he hadn't heard that city mentioned in epidemiologists' discussions. He listed seven states as being known to him to be involved in the recall: CO, IL, MI, NE, NY, PA and TX.
Sockman didn't mention Ohio, one of the states listed prominently in many news reports as being among the first to have a recall issued.
Until I can get a complete, official listing, there are news reports of contaminated meat or Kroger recalls in (and there's some repetition and overlap from the FSIS list) CA, OR, WA, CO, NM, UT, WY, NY, PA, TX, IL, GA, SC, AL and East TN.
The limited information available from the USDA isn't surprising to anyone who remembers the melamine contamination incident, where David Goldstein of HorsesAss.org often found himself in possession of more information than the government officials he was trying to question.
Kroger is exceptionally unhelpful for general information, though you can call their customer service line, 1.866.221.4141, give them your ZIP code and be told whether your area was affected. Pennsylvania is part of their Mid-Atlantic recall area, but two of their customer service reps told they cannot comment on a full listing of all states affected.
Readers who shop at any of the following chains listed at the Kroger recall page are advised to check their freezer's and refrigerators for any unused product matching these sell by dates and return it at once:
The following chart explains the range of "sell by" dates that customers should check:
Fred Meyer May 21-July 5
QFC May 21-July 5
Kroger stores May 21-July 3 *
(*except Kroger stores in Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, and Knoxville, Tenn. and Kroger's Mid-Atlantic division, which includes stores in North Carolina, Northeastern Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Kroger stores in Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Knoxville, Tenn. are not involved in the recall of ground beef in Styrofoam trays or from in-store service counters.)
Kroger Mid-Atlantic May 19-June 6
Fry's May 21-July 3
Ralphs May 21-July 3 Smith's May 21-July 3
Baker's May 17-June 4
King Soopers June 20-July 3
City Market June 20-July 3
Customers who shop at Hilander, Owen's, Pay Less, and Scott's should follow the "sell by" dates listed above for Kroger stores.
In addition to the ground beef described above, Kroger is recalling Private Selection Natural ground beef sold in 16 oz. packages that were in the self-service meat case. The "sell by" dates for this product is July 11 through July 21, 2008. The product was available at all Kroger stores (including Kroger Mid-Atlantic and stores in Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Knoxville, Tenn.) and Dillons, Fred Meyer, Baker's, Smith's and Fry's.
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