A Salmonella outbreak linked to ground beef produced by Cargill Meat Solutions and sold at Hannaford and other grocery stores was the fifth largest multi-state food poisoning outbreak of 2012, based on the total number of people sickened. The outbreak, which was announced in July by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sickened 46 people in nine states. Twelve people were hospitalized.
Working with the the CDC and state health departments on a traceback investigation, the US Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS) was able to link illnesses in case-patients to the ground beef products produced at Cargill’s establishment in Wyalusing, Pa. Although the meat under recall was passed its expiration date when the problem was discovered, Cargill issued a recall of 29,339 pounds of fresh ground beef products out of concern for consumers who may have purchased and frozen the potentially tainted meat.
The recall was for 14-pound chub packages of “Grnd Beef Fine 85/15”, packed 3 chubs to approximate 42-pound cases. Most of the meat was repackaged and sold under stores names. Retailers who received the meat included Hannaford, IGA, Shop ‘n Save and other grocery stores on the east coast. To see the full list, click here.
New York was hardest hit by the outbreak almost half of those sickened were New Yorkers. By state, the case count was as follows: Maine (2), Massachusetts (3), New Hampshire (3), New York (20), North Carolina (1), Rhode Island (3), Vermont (11), Virginia (2), and West Virginia (1).
