Piggly Wiggly Ground Beef Recall Prompted by Two Cases of E. coli
Fresh Brands Distributing Inc. announced a Piggly Wiggly ground beef recall after E. coli infections in two people were associated with beef bought in Piggly Wiggly stores in Monroe and Sister Bay, Wisconsin. The Piggly Wiggly ground beef affected by the E. coli recall includes “ground chuck" and "certified angus beef ground round 85 percent lean," with sell-by dates from July 15 through August 5, 2007. The recall only involves ground beef sold in the company's Wisconsin-based Piggly Wiggly stores.
If consumers still have any of the recalled ground beef, it is most likely in the freezer. Freezing does not kill E. coli bacteria.
“Well, if it doesn’t get past my nose, it’s not going in the skillet. If I can smell there’s something wrong or it doesn’t look right, it’s getting thrown out,” Kevin Hartmann, a Piggly Wiggly customer, told TODAY’S TMJ4, a Milwaukee television station. Along with many others, Mr. Hartmann does not know that beef contaminated with E. coli does not look, smell, or taste unusual.
If you have any of the recalled ground beef in your freezer, that beef may be harboring a silent and deadly pathogen. If no one has eaten any of the beef in 10 days, return it to Piggly Wiggly for a refund. If someone has eaten some of the beef, wait for 10 days from the time it was eaten, and then return it. DO NOT EAT ANY OF THE RECALLED PIGGLY WIGGLY GROUND BEEF.
If anyone who has eaten the recalled Piggly Wiggly ground beef develops symptoms of an E. coli infection, contact a doctor immediately. E. coli symptoms include watery and/or bloody diarrhea (possibly explosive), severe abdominal cramps, and sometimes nausea and vomiting.
Pritzker Law, a leading E. coli litigation law firm, is currently representing victims of E. coli outbreaks associated with ground beef. To contact the firm, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm’s online consultation form.
