Whole Foods beef recall reaches NM
E. Coli was traced to Nebraska Beef plant.
Last week, Whole Foods Market announced a voluntary recall of fresh ground beef sold in some states because of the possibility that it may have been contaminated with E. coli. Now that recall has been expanded to include New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas and Utah.
The company explained that the Rocky Mountain stores don't usually procure meat from the Nebraska Beef facility linked to the outbreak, but later realized the stores did receive small shipments. The recall affects Coleman Natural Beef sold in stores between June 2 and August 6. The stores immediately removed all beef in question from shelves but some meat may remain in your fridge or freezer.
In response to the recall, Whole Foods said Monday that it would tighten oversight of suppliers. According to the New York Times:
...Whole Foods acknowledged that it had failed to catch an important change made by one of its suppliers of ground beef, Coleman Natural Beef. After coming under new ownership, Coleman Natural began using a slaughterhouse in Omaha that had received multiple citations and had fought a long-running battle with the Agriculture Department. The government has said the plant was the source of ground beef that has sickened scores of people around the country.
It's been an ugly summer of food scares, but this one is particularly shocking because of Whole Foods' reputation for quality. "I thought the higher prices they charge for everything was sort of a guarantee of quality throughout the store," one Whole Foods shopper told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Remember, people: Cook those burgers to medium, about 160°F inside. Cooking kills E. Coli.
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