California grocer recalls meat for possible E. coli

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- A Safeway supermarket in Davis, California, was voluntarily recalling about 170 lbs (77.3 kg) of ground beef that may contain the disease-causing E. coli O157:H7 bacteria, U.S. meat safety officials said Wednesday.

The problem was discovered through routine Agriculture Department testing. No illnesses have been reported. Consumers were encouraged to return the meat to the store.

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly pathogen that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration.

Involved in the recall were packages of ground beef produced on August 29 for sale at the store at 1435 W. Covell Blvd. The packages, weighing from 0.75 to 3.5 lbs, were sold under the Safeway label as "LEANEST GROUND BEEF 93% LEAN," "SUPER LEAN GROUND BEEF 90% LEAN," "LEAN GROUND BEEF 80% LEAN" and "LEAN GR BEEF MARKET 80% LEAN."

Each carried a sell-by date of "Aug 30, 00."

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