Austin, Texas. August 8, 2008. Today, Whole Foods Market announced a voluntary multi state recall of the fresh ground beef it has sold between June 2 and August 6, 2008 because of a concern that it may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 bacteria. Whole Foods Market is informed that the beef in question apparently came from Coleman Natural Beef whose Nebraska Beef processing plant was previously subject to a nationwide re call for E. coli O157:H7 contamination.
At this time, although the illnesses allegedly linked to Whole Foods Market are in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, it is broaden ing the voluntary recall to the following states out of an abundance of caution: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington D. C., Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Canada.
Whole Foods Market asks customers who may have ground beef purchased during these dates (in cluding in the freezer) to dispose of the product and return to the store with the packaging or receipt for a full refund.
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The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.
For information on E. coli O157:H7, visit the Food Facts web page at http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/cause/ecolie.shtml
For more information, consumers and industry can call the CFIA at 1-800-4 42-2342 / TTY 1-800-465-7735 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday).
For information on receiving recalls by e-mail, or for other food safety facts, visit our web site at www.inspection.gc.ca.
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Media enquiries:
Shashikant Kulkarni (English)
Office of Food Safety and Recall
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
613 368-1622
Linda LeBlanc (French)
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Fo od Recall and Emergency Response
613-760-4112
