Washington, September 10, 2022 The US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issues a public health alert over concerns that ground beef products in HelloFresh meal kits may be associated with Escherichia coli (coli bacteriaO157: H7 disease. The recall was not requested because the products are no longer available for purchase.
Meal kits containing ground beef for this Public Health Warning were shipped to consumers from July 2 to 21, 2022. The following products are subject to a Public Health Alert. [view label]:
- 10 oz. Vacuum-packed plastic containers containing “GROUND BEEF 85% LEAN / 15% FAT” with the codes “EST #46481 L1 22155” or “EST #46481 L5 22155” on the side of the package.
Ground beef packaging bears “EST.46841” inside the USDA inspection mark and on plastic ground beef packaging.
FSIS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and state public health partners are investigating an outbreak coli bacteria O157:H7 and raw ground beef is the likely source of the reported diseases. Tracking information determined that several case patients received ground meat produced at M46841 and distributed by HelloFresh in meal kits from July 2 to 21, 2022. Tracing of the materials used to produce ground beef is ongoing and FSIS continues to work with suppliers and public health partners on the investigation.
FSIS fears that some products may be in consumers’ refrigerators. We urge consumers who have purchased these products not to consume them. These products should be discarded.
FSIS advises all consumers to safely prepare raw meat products, including fresh and frozen, and to consume ground beef that has been cooked to a temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit, the only way to ensure that ground beef is cooked at a temperature high enough to kill it. Harmful bacteria is the use of a food thermometer that measures the internal temperature, https://www.fsis.usda.gov/safetempchart.
Media and consumers with questions regarding the public health alert can contact [email protected] or Via live chat.
Consumers with food safety questions can call the USDA Free Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-MPHot (888-674-6854) or live chat at Ask the USDA 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern time) Monday through Friday. Consumers can also browse food safety messages on Ask the USDA Or email a question to [email protected]. For consumers who need to report a problem with a meat, poultry or egg product, the online electronic consumer complaint monitoring system can be accessed 24 hours a day at https://foodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov/eCCF/.
