E. coli fears prompt beef recall

SEATTLE – Potentially contaminated meat from a Walla Walla County plant may have reached some small grocery stores in the Spokane area but probably nowhere else in the state, the company said Saturday.

Tyson Foods late Friday voluntarily recalled about 16,473 pounds of ground beef that might be contaminated with a potentially fatal form of E. coli bacteria.

The meat, produced Feb. 16 at a Tyson plant in Wallula, was sent to distributors in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Utah. It was recalled after federal tests at another, unidentified establishment indicated there might be a problem.

A Spokane Regional Health District spokeswoman said it could not be determined until Monday whether any local stores had received potentially contaminated beef. Julie Graham, the district’s public information manager, said illness can be avoided through proper handling and cooking of ground beef.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said it hasn’t received any reports of anyone getting sick after eating the meat.

The meat came in 60-pound boxes, each containing six 10-pound tubes (or “chubs”) of ground beef. The meat is labeled “Round, coarse ground beef, 85/15”; the box end is labeled “Est. 9268” and has a “best before or frozen by” date of March 8.

Consumers with questions about the recall can call Tyson’s consumer hotline at (800) 233-6332.