Customers whose freezers contain HelloFresh ground beef shipping July 2-21 should discard the meat, the USDA said. The agency said it did not request a recall because the kits are no longer available for purchase.
The 85% lean ground beef came in 10-ounce vacuum-sealed plastic packages with “EST.46841” printed on them. The sides of the packages also indicate “EST # 46841 L1 22 155” or “EST # 46841 L5 22 155”.
HelloFresh, a Germany-based company, said the USDA warning “affects a very small portion of HelloFresh customers in the United States” who received beef from a particular supplier.
“The USDA has issued a public health alert out of an abundance of caution,” the company said in a statement. “We are working closely with the USDA and the supplier in question.”
Ground beef is a common cause of transmission of E. coli. About 120,000 pounds of ground beef were recalled in April for this reason. In 2019, E. coli in ground beef was suspected of infecting at least 109 people in six states.
Other foods also transmitted E. coli, which is short for Escherichia coli. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned in August of a “rapid” outbreak in Michigan and Ohio that officials say may have been linked to romaine lettuce at Wendy’s restaurants.
At the end of last year, 10 people fell ill and one person died in an outbreak linked to packaged salads. Another outbreak was linked to baby spinach.
Some strains of E. coli, a group of bacteria, are harmless. Others can cause urinary tract infections, pneumonia and respiratory infections. A person can become infected with E. coli by swallowing an often invisible amount of animal or human feces in contaminated food or water.
Symptoms include diarrhea, excessive vomiting, dehydration, stomach cramps and bloody stools, according to the CDC. About 265,000 people in the United States get sick from E. coli every year and about 30 people die from it.
Federal food safety officials are urging people to eat ground beef only if it has been cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit and to confirm that temperature with a food thermometer. If meat is stored in the refrigerator, it should be stored at 40 degrees Fahrenheit and used within a day or two.
