E. coli 026 Cargill Beef Recall at BJ’s in New York
Eight New York locations of BJ’s Wholesale Club sold Cargill Meat Solutions ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli 026, a potentially deadly human pathogen.
Cargill recalled 8,500 pounds of E. coli ground beef August 28 after state and federal health investigators associated three confirmed E. coli 026 infections with the product. The cluster of illnesses included one case patient in New York and two in Maine. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service determined the association and notified consumers that the tainted ground beef was sold at BJ’s Wholesale Club stores in New York, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Virginia. Click here for the complete retail distribution list.
The ground beef was produced June 11, but law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is among concerned parties that believe consumers are still at risk for unknowingly pulling E. coli-laced ground beef from their home freezers. In New York, the recalled Cargill hamburger was sold at BJ’s in Albany, Clarence, East Syracuse, Flushing, Greece, Monroe, Oneota and Yorktown Heights. Packages bear USDA establishment number EST 9400 inside the USDA mark of inspection.
Escherichia coli, commonly known as E. coli, is a bacterium commonly found in the lower intestines of cattle. Eating ground beef is a well-established mode of transmission of the bacteria. Healthy adults sometimes endure bloody diarrhea, painful stomach cramps and other symptoms of infection without treatment, but E. coli 026 and other shiga toxin-producing types of E. coli can cause death and severe illness in young children, older adults and other people with weakened or under-developed immune systems.
In five to 15 percent of cases, infected individuals develop life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Children under 5 years old are especially susceptible to HUS, which can lead to kidney failure, anemia, heart problems, brain damage and central nervous system disorders, including paralysis.
Individuals concerned about an illness should contact a physician. For answers to questions about compensation for medical expenses, pain, suffering and other harms contact PritzkerOlsen at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or complete the contact form on the side of this Web page. Our firm is one of the few in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation and we have won millions of dollars for victims of food poisoning, including E. coli in ground beef.
