What You Need To Know About The Latest Ground Beef Salmonella Outbreak
If you recently shopped at a New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut ShopRite, you should immediately double-check your refrigerator and make sure you don't consume any ground beef involved in an outbreak of salmonella. According to the CDC, 16 people have been infected with salmonella so far in the impacted states, including one resident in Massachusetts, though the meat was purchased from one of the former three states.
The meat involved is 80% lean ground beef. However, the source of the outbreak remains unknown — ShopRite stores carry multiple brands of ground beef. As of right now, it appears that only those who consumed 80% lean ground beef were affected. No cases involving other types of ground beef have been reported, but the CDC warns that many cases of salmonella go unreported because people often recover on their own. So if you're someone who is always buying ground beef, you might want to hit pause.
Avoid consuming recently-purchased 80% lean ground beef from ShopRite
If you've purchased from a ShopRite in one of those three states where the meat was sold, it's best to avoid consuming any 80% lean ground beef until an investigation can better pinpoint exactly where the meat involved came from. As of press time, the CDC has also not specified which specific ShopRite stores were involved in the outbreak. There is also no information on whether ShopRite has pulled the impacted ground beef from store shelves.
Salmonella is a type of food poisoning that commonly affects the digestive system, causing diarrhea and stomach cramps as well as fever. While most people make a full recovery, those with compromised immune systems might be hospitalized if they develop severe illness; death is possible, too, though uncommon. At the time of publication, six people have been hospitalized in this recent ShopRite salmonella outbreak.
ShopRite's beef products have been recalled in the past. Back in 2019, the store's frozen hamburgers sold in New Jersey and Pennsylvania were recalled due to possible E. coli contamination. And in 2021, a ShopRite in Shelton, Connecticut recalled its store-made beef products due to possible metal fragments within the meat.