Ground Beef Recalled in Five Western States

Only products with a date code of 118-6 or 4/28/06 are subject to recall.

Photo: Richwood Meat Co, Inc.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - Richwood Meat Co, Inc., a Merced, Calif., establishment, is voluntarily recalling approximately 107,943 pounds of frozen ground beef products because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.

The problem was discovered through sampling done by the California Department of Health Services in the course of an investigation.

The ground beef was produced on April 28th, 2006 and was sent to retail outlets in Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration.

The very young, seniors and persons with compromised immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness.

Consumers with questions about the recall should contact company Vice-President Steve Wood at (209) 722-8171, ext. 14.

The labels of the products subject to recall bear the establishment number “EST. 8264 inside the USDA mark of inspection.

Only products with a date code of 118-6 or 4/28/06 are subject to recall. Those products include:

• 10-pound boxes of “FIRERIVER CLASSIC GROUND BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code: 1570985.”
• 10-pound boxes of “FIRERIVER CLASSIC BEEF/SIRLOIN & BEEF, 80/20, Code: 3091816.”
• 10-pound boxes of “RITZFOODSERVICE PURE BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code: 7720.”
• 10-pound boxes of “CHEF’S PRIDE PURE BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code: 7197.”
• 10-pound boxes of “FIRERIVER PURE BEEF PATTIES, 75/25, Code: 1514595.”
• 10-pound boxes of “BLACKWOOD FARM GROUND BEEF 80/20, Code: 7782.”
• 10-pound boxes of “RITZFOODSERVICE GROUND BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code: 7711.”
• 10-pound boxes of “CALIFORNIA PACIFIC ASSOCIATES GROUND BEEF PATTIES 80/20, Code: 4115.”
• 10-pound boxes of “CHEF’S PRIDE GROUND BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code: 7161.”
• 10-pound boxes of “C&C DISTRIBUTING GROUND BEEF PATTIES, Code: 7123.”
• 10-pound boxes of “RICHWOOD MEAT COMPANY GROUND BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code: 7171.”
• 10-pound boxes of “GOLBON GROUND BEEF PATTIES, Code: 7293.”
• 10-pound boxes of “CHEF’S PRIDE GROUND BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code: 7163.”
• 10-pound boxes of “RICHWOOD GROUND BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code: 7173.”
• 20-pound boxes of “FIRERIVER CLASSIC GROUND BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code: 1494426.”
• 10-pound boxes of “FIRERIVER BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code: 1120039.”
• 10-pound boxes of “FIRERIVER BEEF PATTIES, Code: 3059227.”
• 10-pound boxes of “FIRERIVER CLASSIC GROUND BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code: 1120229.”
• 10-pound boxes of “RICHWOOD MEAT COMPANY BEEF PATTIES, Code: 4506.”
• 12-pound boxes of “RICHWOOD MEAT COMPANY BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code 4078.”
• 12-pound boxes of “RICHWOOD MEAT COMPANY BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code 4082.”
• 18-pound boxes of “FIRERIVER CLASSIC GROUND BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code: 9064890.”
• 18-pound boxes of “FIRERIVER CLASSIC GROUND BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code: 9064890.”
• 18-pound boxes of “FIRERIVER CLASSIC GROUND BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code: 9064536.”
• 14-pound boxes of “RICHWOOD MEAT COMPANY GROUND BEEF PATTIES, Code: 4079”
• 2.66-pound bags of “RICHWOOD MEAT BEEF SIRLOIN & BEEF PATTIES, Code: 4094.”
• 3-pound packs of “RICHWOOD MEAT PURE BEEF PATTIES, Code: 4098.”
• 5-pound packs of “RICHWOOD BEEF PATTIES, Code: 4170.”
• 18-pound boxes of “RICHWOOD MEAT COMPANY GROUND BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code 4048.”
• 18-pound boxes of “FIRERIVER CLASSIC GROUND BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code: 9064676.”
• 18-pound boxes of “RICHWOOD MEAT COMPANY PURE BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code: 4047.”
• 18-pound boxes of “RICHWOOD MEAT COMPANY GROUND BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code: 4081.”
• 13.33-pound boxes of “RICHWOOD MEAT COMPANY PURE BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code: 4077.”
• 20-pound boxes of “FIRERIVER CLASSIC GROUND BEEF BULK, 80/20, Code: 2011062.”
• 10-pound boxes of “FIRERIVER CLASSIC GROUND BEEF BULK, 80/20, Code: 1120245”
• 20-pound boxes of “FIRERIVER CLASSIC GROUND BEEF BULK, 80/20, Code: 6378772”
• 20-pound boxes of “FIRERIVER CLASSIC GROUND BEEF BULK, 85/15, Code: 7709090”
• 10-pound boxes of “RITZFOODSERVICE GROUND BEEF PATTIES, 80/20, Code: 4731.”
• 10-pound boxes of “CHEF’S PRIDE GROUND BEEF, 80/20, Code: 4169.”
• 20-pound boxes of “RICHWOOD MEAT COMPANY PURE GROUND BEEF, 80/20, Code: 4240.”
• 48-pound boxes of “RICHWOOD MEAT COMPANY PURE BEEF BULK, 80/20, Code: 4187.”
• 20-pound boxes of “RICHWOOD MEAT COMPANY BEEF PATTY BULK, Code: 4686.”
• 20-pound boxes of “FIRERIVER CLASSIC BEEF PATTY BULK, Code: 1002575”

Consumers with food safety questions can “Ask Karen,” the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov.

The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline (888) MP Hotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from l0:00 AM to 4:00 PM (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day.