Health alert: Ground beef in HelloFresh kits may have E. coli contamination
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WXIN) -- If you got a HelloFresh meal kit in July, the ground beef may have been contaminated with E. coli.
The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a public health alert for the beef, but there isn't a recall because the products are no longer available for purchase.
The ground beef was distributed in the meal kits from July 2 through July 21. The USDA said an investigation into an E.coli outbreak identified that many "case-patients" received the ground beef distributed by HelloFresh.
The FSIS said subject to the public health alert are 10-ounce plastic vacuum-packed packages containing “Ground Beef 85% Lean/15% Fat” with codes “EST#46841 L1 22 155” or “EST#46841 L5 22 155” on the side of the packaging.
The FSIS is concerned that some of the ground beef may be in people’s freezers. Anyone with the ground beef is urged not to consume them and to throw it away instead.
Anyone with questions regarding the public health alert can contact hello@hellofresh.com.
The FSIS advises consumers to only eat ground beef that has been cooked to a temperature of 160 Fahrenheit and to use a food thermometer to make sure that it is cooked properly.