Salmonella Outbreak Prompts Recall of 6.5 Million Pounds of Ground Beef

Phoenix, Arizona—The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that JBS Tolleson is recalling 6,500,966 pounds of raw ground beef due to a Salmonella outbreak. JBS is based in Arizona.

JBS has been identified as the probable source of salmonella illnesses that have sickened at least 57 people in 16 states between August 5 and September 6. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that that fourteen patients tied to this Salmonella outbreak have been hospitalization.

The affected products were packaged between July 26 and September 7 and sold under brand names Walmart, Cedar River Farms Natural Beef, Showcase, Showcase/Walmart and JBS Generic. The USDA inspection mark on the recalled ground beef products contains the establishment number "EST. 267." A complete product list of recalled ground beef products can be downloaded here.

Those who have purchased the ground beef are urged not to consume the product. Instead, the ground beef should be thrown away or returned.

About Salmonella

Salmonella is a bacterial infection characterized by the onset of diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. Symptoms usually develop within 12 to 72 hours after exposure and typically last for at least several days.

Although most salmonella patients will recover without medical treatment, for some persons the symptoms will be so severe as to require hospitalization. With these patients, the salmonella infection may spread from the intestines to the blood stream and then to body organs and can result in death if not treated promptly.