On June 9, 2007, United Food Group voluntarily expanded its June 3 and 6 recalls to include a total of approximately 5.7 million pounds of both fresh and frozen ground beef products produced between April 6 and April 20 because it was contaminated with E. coliO157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service found.
It was first major hamburger recall since 2002.
An investigation carried out by the California Department of Health Services and the Colorado Department of Health, in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, preceded the recall of June 3. Illnesses occurred in Arizona (6), California (3), Colorado (2), Idaho (1), Utah (1) and Wyoming (1). Illness onset dates ranged between April 25 and May 18, 2007.
Four of those illnesses were children who developed Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). Their stories, like the stories of other victims of HUS linked to hamburger consumption, began with that all-American past time of eating a hamburger then lead to an acute illness where death was a real possibility. Now, it is a lifetime of risk of kidney failure.
Click on the pictures of the children below to learn about both the acute phase of their illness and the risk of future complications. It is time now to prevent the next outbreak whether it is caused by contaminated hamburger or some other food product.
