010647 Excel Recalls Beef, Pork for Possible E.Coli

Washington - Excel Corp., a unit of privately held Cargill Inc., voluntarily recalled approximately 190,000 pounds of fresh ground beef and pork products that may be contaminated with illness-causing E.coli bacteria, the U.S. Agriculture Department said.

All products being recalled were produced on May 23 and 24 and were packaged in various sizes, USDA said.

These products were distributed to Kroger stores in Alabama; Georgia; Kentucky in the Bowling Green, Hopkinsville, Madisonville and Powderly areas; South Carolina; and Tennessee in the Knoxville and Nashville areas.

USDA said the problem was discovered when officials in Georgia contacted the department about suspected illnesses associated with the product.

“A link between the illnesses and the product has not been established at this time,” USDA said.

The products being recalled bear the establishment number “86G” inside the USDA seal of inspection on the Kroger label, Excel said. The products carry the production code dates of “01.05.23” and “01.05.24”.

No other meat products, production dates or establishment numbers are involved.

“Although none of the product would be left in the meat case at stores, some consumers may have stored it in their freezer,” Excel President Bill Buckner said in a statement. “We urge consumers to check their freezers to see if they have any of the potentially affected product.”

Kroger spokesman Gary Rhodes said any customer who has any of the recalled products can bring it to Kroger for a full refund or replacement. Rhodes said the company would not be financially impacted since the recall involved Excel products.

Excel's recall comes only days after Sara Lee Corp. pleaded guilty to one federal misdemeanor count of producing and distributing adulterated hot dogs and deli meats that were linked to more than a dozen deaths.

In 1998 Sara Lee recalled 15 million pounds of hot dogs and deli meat products products at its Bil Mar Foods plant in Zeeland, Michigan, after the food was linked to an outbreak of listeria, a food-borne illness that can be deadly for the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.

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