Salt Lake company recalls beef products in E..

Health • 2,300 pounds of beef produced by Main Street Quality Meats have been pulled.

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A Salt Lake City meat distributor has recalled about 2,300 pounds of ground beef products because of a possible E. coli contamination.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced in a Monday news release that the recall affects 10-pound cases of "ground beef bulk" and 12-pound cases of "ground beef patties" produced by Main Street Quality Meats on Oct. 18 and Oct. 19 and sold to restaurants in Utah.

Each case bears the establishment number "EST. 19916" inside the USDA mark of inspection, as well as lot numbers 1018121, 1019121, 1018122 or 1019122, according to the Department of Agriculture's news release.

The news release did not list the restaurants that had bought the beef.

Inspectors discovered the bacterium, E. coli O157:H7, during tests of the meat, but the beef products were shipped out before the company received test results.

There have been no reports of illnesses from consumption of the beef products, but the Agriculture Department urged people concerned about an illness to contact a health care provider.

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and, in the most severe cases, kidney failure. The very young, seniors and persons with weak immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness, according to the news release.

Consumers and media with questions regarding the recall should contact Main Street Quality Meats' food safety coordinator, Scott Schmidt, at 801-484-5295.

Consumers with food safety questions can "Ask Karen," the Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service's virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov or via smartphone at m.askkaren.gov. "Ask Karen" live chat services are available Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day.

Salt Lake company recalls beef products in E. coli scare