More than 12 million pounds of beef are being recalled from Walmart and other stores as a salmonella outbreak sickens more than 240 people
- JBS is expanding its beef recall to include more than five million additional pounds of raw meat products.
- In October, the meat producer recalled 6.9 million pounds of raw beef that had been linked to a salmonella outbreak.
- As of Tuesday, 246 people in 26 states had been sickened in the salmonella outbreak.
Millions more pounds of beef are being recalled because of food-poisoning concerns.
On Tuesday, Arizona-based meat producer JBS Tolleson announced it was expanding its raw meat recall to include an additional 5.2 million pounds of raw beef products.
In October, JBS announced plans to recall 6.9 million pounds of raw beef products due to salmonella concerns.
As of Tuesday, 246 sicknesses in 26 states had been linked to the salmonella outbreak. Fifty-nine of these people had been hospitalized.
The beef products were sold under numerous brands, including Cedar River Farms, Comnor Perfect Choice, Gourmet Burger, Grass Run Farms, and Showcase, which is sold at Walmart. A full list of the brands and how to identify potentially contaminated ground beef can be found on the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service's website.
In November, JBS was forced to recall almost 100,000 pounds of products from its Swift Beef facility in Utah due to concerns that the beef may be contaminated with E. coli.
Salmonella has been responsible for some of the most widespread food-poisoning outbreaks in recent US history. In 1985, more than 6,000 people were sickened and nine people died in a salmonella outbreak tied to tainted milk. And an outbreak in 2009 linked to a peanut factory sickened more than 500 people, eight of whom died.
"FSIS advises all consumers to safely prepare their raw meat products, including fresh and frozen," and to consume ground beef only if it has been cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit, the FSIS said in a statement. "Other cuts of beef should be cooked to a temperature of 145°F and allowed to rest for at least three minutes."