New Seasons Market is recalling fresh ground beef sold at meat counters in three of its stores because it may be contaminated with Escherichia coli O157:H7.

Three people in the Portland metro area have become ill with E. coli O157:H7 infection after having eaten ground beef purchased at different New Seasons outlets. All are recovering from the illness.

E. coli O157:H7 causes a diarrheal illness often with bloody stools. Although most healthy adults can recover completely within a week, some people can develop a form of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). The condition is most likely to occur in young children and the elderly, and it can lead to serious kidney damage and even death.

The recalled fresh ground beef was sold at the company’s North Lombard, North Interstate and Cedar Hills locations. The product comes in 5%, 10% and 20% fat content varieties and is ground at the stores prior to sale. The products implicated were purchased between Oct. 19 and Oct. 23. Oregon Health Authority (OHA) recommends customers who purchased the ground beef between these dates throw it away immediately.

OHA identified the outbreak after laboratory tests conducted at the Oregon State Public Health Laboratory determined that an identical strain of E. coli O157:H7 was present in all three patients.

New Seasons Market has reported to OHA that it suspended the sale of the product while Oregon Department of Agriculture continues its investigation into the cause of the outbreak.

People who ate the product but did not get sick do not need to do anything. If you developed diarrhea after eating it, you should consult your health care provider and tell him or her about the exposure.

Additional Resources

E. coli: Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, is the nation’s leading law firm representing victims of E. coli outbreaks and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). The E. coli lawyers of Marler Clark have represented thousands of victims of E. coli and other foodborne illness infections and have recovered over $650 million for clients. Marler Clark is the only law firm in the nation with a practice focused exclusively on foodborne illness litigation. Our E. coli lawyers have litigated E. coli and HUS cases stemming from outbreaks traced to ground beef, raw milk, lettuce, spinach, sprouts, and other food products.  The law firm has brought E. coli lawsuits against such companies as Jack in the Box, Dole, ConAgra, Cargill, and Jimmy John’s.  We have proudly represented such victims as Brianne Kiner, Stephanie Smith and Linda Rivera.

If you or a family member became ill with an E. coli infection or HUS after consuming food and you’re interested in pursuing a legal claim, contact the Marler Clark E. coli attorneys for a free case evaluation.