Beef recall includes products in Utah

Before you put those frozen steaks on the grill this weekend, you may want to check the brand name of the beef to make sure it isn't part of a recall issued Wednesday.

JBS Swift Beef Co. of Greeley, Colo., has recalled approximately 41,280 pounds of beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The recall notice said the products, listed as "beef bottom sirloin," were produced April 21 and 22 and were shipped to distributors and retailers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.

Larry Lewis, spokesman for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, said the information he has from the FDA says the products were shipped two months ago, so "it's not likely it's on store shelves currently. Our food safety inspectors are still making routine contact with retail grocery stores, reminding them of this and alerting them as well."

He cautioned consumers to check their freezers to see if they have purchased some of the recalled beef, which was listed on the recall as "Black Angus," "Swift" or "bnls" beef.

While the total amount of tainted product is "relatively small," Lewis said if consumers have questions, they should contact the retailer where the beef was purchased.

Consumers with questions about the recall also may contact the JBS Swift consumer hotline at 800-555-7675.

All the recalled beef is in boxes bearing "EST. 969" and packaging date codes of 042109 or 042209. They have case codes of 21852, 21853, 31852, 31853, 33852, 33853, 41853, 79852, 79853 or 90853.

— Carrie A. Moore