Ground beef possibly contaminated with E. coli, USDA warns

A public health alert has been issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service for ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

Raw ground beef produced by Greater Omaha Packing Co., Inc. on March 28, 2024, is no longer available, so “no recall has been filed.” Still, the government agency issued an alert last week to alert consumers and food service establishments who may have the product in their freezers.

“Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them and food services are urged not to serve these products,” the USDA alert said. “These products should be discarded or returned to the place of purchase.”

The beef products have a best before date of April 22, 2024 and a packaging date of ‘032824’.

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For the complete list of products subject to the public health alert with additional label information from FSIS, click here.

The products have an establishment number, “EST. 960A”, within the USDA mark of approval.

“The issue was discovered by the company while conducting an inventory of product that was on hold because it tested positive for E. coli O157:H7,” the USDA said. “The company has notified FSIS that they inadvertently used some of the contaminated beef to produce ground beef products that they then placed on the market.”

At the time of publication, there have been no confirmed reports of illness resulting from the consumption of these products.

Greater Omaha Packing Co., Inc. did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for additional comment.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some E. coli can cause diarrhea and germs can spread through contaminated food or water.

Anyone can become ill from E. coli, but adults over 65 years of age, children under 5 years of age and people with a weakened immune system have an increased risk of infection.

Symptoms of E. coli, which can usually last five to seven days, include “diarrhea, which may be bloody, and most include stomach cramps that can be severe,” according to the CDC, as well as vomiting and possible high fever.