INSPECTION FOODRECALLS
Tuesday, April 07, 2009 10:56 PM
20090407 - HEALTH HAZARD ALERT (E. coli) / DANGER

HEALTH HAZARD ALERT - CERTAIN SAFEWAY LEAN GROUND BEEF MAY CONTAIN E. coli O157:H7 BACTERIA

OTTAWA, April 7, 2009 - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Canada Safeway are warning the public not to consume certain Safeway lean ground beef described below because it may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

Lean Ground Beef affected by this alert was sold in packages of approximately 0.450 kg, with the first part of UPC being 201670. Product label bears Canada establishment number 573 and the product was prepared for certain Canada Safeway stores in Northeastern Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

The affected packages bear a Best Before or a Freeze By date of March 19 and were sold from March 13 to March 19, inclusive and are no longer available for sale. Consumers who may have previously purchased this product and still have it in their freezers, are advised not to consume this product.

There has been no reported illness associated with the consumption of this product.

Food contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 may not look or smell spoiled. Consumption of food contaminated with this bacteria may cause serious and potentially life-threatening illnesses. Symptoms include severe abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea. Some people may have seizures or strokes and some may need blood transfusions and kidney dialysis. Others may live with permanent kidney damage. In severe cases of illness, people may die.

The manufacturer, Vantage Foods, Winnipeg, is voluntarily recalling the affected product from the marketplace. The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.

For more information, consumers and industry can call one of the Following numbers:

Bruce Bowman, Canada Safeway Limited at 403-730-3508; or, CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 / TTY 1-800-465-7735 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday).

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 information on receiving recalls by e-mail, or for other food safety facts, visit our web site at www.inspection.gc.ca.