Millions of Pounds of Beef Recalled Due to Salmonella Fears, Dozens Already Sickened

An Arizona company is recalling 6.5 million pounds of various beef products due to fears the food may be contaminated with salmonella. (Beef in a supermarket freezer is shown above on the left; salmonella bacteria are shown above right.)

The USDA made the announcement Thursday, as People magazine and other outlets reported.

The products have been shipped nationwide, and are identified as being supplied from JBS Tolleson of Tolleson, Arizona. Raw, “non-intact” beef items, including ground beef, are under the recall (“intact” meats are marinated or tumbled without a vacuum).

The meat supplied by JBS Tolleson is packaged under a variety of labels.

Here is a list of brands on the FDA’s website that may have the tainted meat.

Hundreds of types of meat products are on the list. The USDA said the meat was packaged between July 26 and September 7, and consumers should look for an establishment number that appears as “EST. 267” inside the USDA mark of inspection, USA Today noted.

People are urged to check the meat in their refrigerators and freezers to make sure they don’t have the recalled meat.

Investigators say at least 57 people in 16 states have reported getting sick, as USA Today noted.

Related: A Health Cure May Be Sitting Inside Your Kitchen Cabinet

Additionally, a salmonella outbreak caused by infected eggs has sickened 38 people in seven states since mid-June, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said this week; 10 people have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported.

Tests have traced the infections to eggs sold by Gravel Ridge Farms of Cullman, Alabama, which issued a recall on September 8.

The eggs were sold mostly in stores and restaurants in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, reported NBC News. A list of stores where they were sold is on the Food and Drug Administration website.

Infants and others with compromised immune systems are more at risk for more severe complications from salmonella, so the best thing to do is act out of an abundance of caution, according to the FDA,

The signs and symptoms surface between 12 and 72 hours of exposure to the bacteria and include:

• diarrhea
• fever
• abdominal cramps

Salmonella symptoms usually last four to seven days, and most people recover without treatment. In some people, however, diarrhea may be so severe that hospitalization is required.

Salmonella infection, in rare cases, can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics, notes the CDC.

Who is more likely to suffer severe illness from salmonella bacteria?

• children younger than five years
• adults older than 65
• other people with weakened immune systems

See the video below for tips on how to avoid salmonella poisoning.