Giant, Wegmans Join Beef Recall

6,000 Pounds May Be Tainted With E. Coli

At least 6,000 pounds of ground beef supplied to stores in the Washington area are included in a nationwide recall of beef possibly contaminated with E. coli bacteria, store officials said yesterday.

The recall affects at least two chains in the region: Giant, which has dozens of stores in the area, and Wegmans, which has two stores in Northern Virginia. Representatives for both chains said yesterday that they had not received any reports of illness associated with consumption of the products.

Cargill, which supplied the potentially tainted ground beef to the two chains, said Saturday that it was recalling more than 1 million pounds of the product. It was the second time in less than a month that the company has voluntarily recalled beef that might have been contaminated.

Officials for Giant said it received 6,000 pounds of the beef involved in the nationwide recall. All the packages that remained at its stores had been taken off the shelves by Saturday, the company said in a news release. A Giant spokesman said it was unclear how many packages already had been sold.

The recalled packages carried by Giant stores have "use by/freeze by" dates of Oct. 31 and Nov. 3, the company said.

Wegmans Food Markets, based in Rochester, N.Y., is recalling packages with "use-or-freeze-by" dates from Oct. 10 through Oct. 29. A spokeswoman for Wegmans said that the company did not know how much, if any, of the affected beef had made its way into its two Northern Virginia stores.

Both companies advised customers with the affected packages to return them to stores for a full refund.

Weis Markets is also listed on Cargill's Web site as a chain included in the recall. Representatives for Weis were not available yesterday to confirm whether its four stores in the Maryland suburbs had any of the recalled products.

Virginia, Maryland and D.C. health officials did not return messages seeking information on whether they had received any reports of E. coli symptoms among area residents.

Cargill, based in Wayzata, Minn., produced the beef between Oct. 8 and 11 at a plant in Wyalusing, Pa., and distributed it to retailers across the country, according to a news release on the supplier's Web site. Eight other states are included in the recall: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Ground beef supplied to Shop Rite and Stop & Shop also was included in the recall. Those chains do not have stores in the Washington area.

Cargill learned that the meat might be contaminated after the Agriculture Department found a problem with a sample of the beef produced at the Pennsylvania plant on Oct. 8, according to the company. The bacteria is E. coli O157:H7.

Symptoms of that strain of E. coli include stomach cramps and diarrhea. Although most healthy adults recover completely within a week, some people can develop a form of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome. The condition is most likely to occur in young children and the elderly.

People with questions about the recall can call Cargill at 877-455-1034.