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74,000 pounds of beef recalled Waco meat company recalls 74,000 pounds of beef

Waco Tribune-Herald - 3/21/2017

Waco-based H&B Packing is recalling more than 35 tons of boneless beef products that may have E. coli contamination, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection announced.

The beef was produced March 6 and was shipped to food manufacturers within the state of Texas. Neither the USDA nor the company has made public a list of where the meat may have been processed or sold, but company spokesman Gabriel Arias said that information soon should appear on the USDA website.

Product included in the recall was a 60-pound box of boneless beef with case code 69029, as well as multiple bins containing 73,682 pounds of boneless beef also with case code 69029.

The problem was discovered when safety inspectors with the USDA were notified by the state of Texas' Meat Safety Assurance Unit about a positive toxin-producing E. coli sample.

No confirmed illnesses

The USDA said there have been no confirmed reports of illnesses due to consumption of these products.

"We take this situation seriously. We will take aggressive steps to prevent this from happening again," said Rick and Benjy Bauer, owners of H&B Packing Co., in a prepared statement. "We urge consumers to take this recall seriously and return recalled meat to the place of purchase or discard the product."

They added, "We regret that we needed to take this action, but we are working with USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service officials to ensure that the recall is implemented promptly. When consumers use meat or poultry product, we urge consumers to follow the advice included in the safety handling label of our products, which advise consumers to cook, clean, chill and separate meat and poultry when preparing and storing."

The E. coli linked to meat products of H&B Packing is identified as non-0157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. Most people infected with this strain develop diarrhea, often bloody, and vomiting, according to the USDA. They usually begin showing symptoms within two to eight days of consuming the contaminated product.

Most of those infected recover within a week, but rarely some develop a more severe infection, the USDA reports.

Frozen products

The company and the USDA are concerned that some product may be frozen and in customers' freezers, the USDA said in a release.

The USDA advises all consumers to safely prepare their raw meat products, including fresh and frozen, and only consume ground meat that has been cooked to a temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. The only way to confirm that ground meat is cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria is to use a food thermometer that measures internal temperature.