Ground Beef Recall Affects Trader Joe's, Bj's...
By MEREDITH TRAINA | wpix.com

October 31, 2009
ASHVILLE, N.Y. (WPIX)—
Some 546,000 pounds of ground beef are being recalled because of possible contamination from the E. coli bacteria.

The meat was sold by Fairbank Farms in Ashville, and has been sold by numerous retail stores including Trader Joe's, Price Chopper, Lancaster, Wild Harvest, Shaw's, BJ's, Ford Brothers, and Giant.

The beef is passed its expiration date, and is no longer being sold as fresh product in supermarkets. But, officials worry the meat -- produced between Sept. 14 and Sept. 16, 2009 -- could still be lurking in consumers' freezers.

Tainted packages are labeled "EST. 492" inside the USDA inspection mark, or on the nutrition label. The beef has also been packaged under the Fairbank Farms name and distributed throughout the tri-state, as well as Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Saturday the meat has been linked to cases of food poising in three New England states.