The Recall Desk
HighUSDA FSIS·pha-051617-exp·Announced 2017-05-20

Imported Veal Products Recalled Over Possible E. coli O103 Contamination

USDA FSIS issued a Public Health Alert for approximately 1,631 pounds of raw veal products imported from the Netherlands due to possible contamination with Non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O103. No illnesses have been reported.

What this means for you

Real risk of harm even if no illness or injury has been reported yet. Stop using the product and follow the agency's guidance.

Our severity reasoning: This is a Public Health Alert for possible contamination with STEC O103, a high-risk pathogen. The source text explicitly states there have been no confirmed reports of illnesses, which limits the score to at most 3 per the rubric.

Plain-English summary

USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a Public Health Alert for approximately 1,631 pounds of raw veal products imported from the Netherlands that may be contaminated with Non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) O103. The products were produced at Establishment 9EG, EKRO B.V., Netherlands, from calves slaughtered on March 8-9, 2017 and April 11-13, 2017, with further processing and packaging occurring on March 9-13, 2017 and April 14-18, 2017. An additional 90 pounds of product from the same establishment tested positive for STEC O103.

The recalled products include various chilled boneless and bone-in veal cuts and chops, identifiable by specific case codes and shipping marks. These items were distributed to a distributor and then further distributed to restaurants and grocery stores in Michigan, California, Florida, and Massachusetts.

The problem was discovered when an FSIS sample of imported raw intact veal products, specifically veal stew meat, tested positive for STEC O103. There have been no confirmed reports of illnesses due to consumption of these products. Non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea, and abdominal cramps, and may lead to hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), particularly in children under 5 and older adults.

Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them and should throw them away or return them to the place of purchase. Anyone concerned about an illness should contact a health care provider. Consumers with food safety questions can contact FSIS through AskKaren.gov or the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline.

The recalled product

Product
FSIS Issues Public Health Alert For Imported Veal Products Due To Possible Non-O157 Shiga toxin producing E. coli (STEC) O103 Contamination

Distribution

Distributed in 4 states: