Fred Meyer recalls more suspect beef

WASILLA — Fred Meyer is recalling more beef.

“This particular product we have not had any illnesses associated with it,” said company spokeswoman Melinda Merrill. “It’s more precautionary as they continue the investigation.”

The beef recall is the second of the summer and comes from the same investigation into possible E. coli contamination from the beef distributor Nebraska Beef Ltd., Merrill said. The investigation was launched on the heels of illnesses reported in Michigan and Ohio in late May and early June.

This time around, the beef in question is the type sold at stores in a “family pack,” which Merrill described as a several-pound tray of ground beef, usually bearing a blue sticker reading “family pack.”

Customers with beef in their freezers should look for sell-by dates between July 6 and Aug. 11. They should either throw the beef away or return it to the store for a refund.

July’s recall pertained to the following types of beef:

• Ground beef sold in a Styrofoam tray with the sell by date ranging from May 21 to July 5.

• Ground beef bought from a service counter, handed over by a store employee, with that same May 21 to July 5 sell by date range.

• Ground beef that came in what Merrill called a “brick” — a vacuum-packed, 16-ounce package marked “Private Selection” with sell-by dates between May 21 and July 5.

As it did during the first recall in July, Fred Meyer has removed all the recalled beef from its stores, Merrill said.

“What you see on our shelves now is safe,” she said.

Kroger, the parent company of Fred Meyer, posts up-to-date recall information on the Web at kroger.com/services/Pages/recall_information.aspx.

Asked how much beef the recalls have affected, Merrill said she didn’t know.

“We don’t track it when it’s something like that, what we’re throwing away,” she said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.