Ground beef potentially contaminated with E. coli, USDA warns

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

Raw ground beef produced by Greater Omaha Packing Co., Inc. on March 28, 2024 is no longer available for purchase, so “no recall has been requested.” The government agency nevertheless issued an alert last week to warn 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 service establishments are urged not to serve these products,” the USDA alert states. “These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.”

Beef products have a “Use/Freeze By” date of April 22, 2024 and a package date of “032824”.

Click here for the full list of products subject to the public health alert with additional label information from FSIS here.

The products bear an establishment number “EST. 960A” inside the USDA inspection mark.

“The issue was discovered by the facility during an inventory of a product that was on hold because it tested positive for E. coli O157:H7,” the USDA said. “The company informed FSIS that it inadvertently used some of the contaminated beef to produce ground meat products that it then shipped commercially.”

At the time of publication, no cases of illness due to consumption of these products have been confirmed.

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 be spread through contaminated food or water.

Anyone can get sick from E. coli, but adults over 65, children under 5, and people with weakened immune systems are at increased risk of infection.

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