USDA names retailers that sold recalled ground beef from Modesto firm

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released a list of grocery stores and other retailers that are believed to have sold some of the 1 million pounds of ground beef and bulk ground meat products that were officially recalled last week after the products produced by a California firm were linked to seven people falling ill from a rare sub-type of the E. coli bacteria.

Valley Meat Co., a 50-year-old family-run business, sold the potentially problematic ground meat to companies that -- in turn -- sold it in 135 outlets in California alone. It was also available in dozens of outlets in Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Guam, according to the USDA.

The full list of retailers -- so far -- can be found here.

The meat was processed from Oct. 2, 2009, to Jan. 12, 2010. The packages have the phrase “EST. 8268” stamped inside the label’s USDA inspection mark.

The bacteria, E. coli O157:H7, can produce toxins that can cause intense intestinal distress or kidney failure, particularly in children or the elderly.

-- P.J. Huffstutter