Publix Recalls Ground Beef Products After 18 People Get Sick

Important news for Publix grocery store shoppers; the chain has been forced to recall a bulk of the ground chuck that was sold between the dates of June 25, 2018, and July 31, 2018. According to the USDA, 18 people have gotten sick from eating the beef, and the agency has found that the cause was due to E. coli 026 contamination.

The tainted meat was shipped to 24 counties in Florida–Brevard, Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, Desoto, Flagler, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake Lee, Manatee, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Lucie, Sumter, Volusia.

The affected meat includes only pre-made varieties–but there are a lot of them! Here is the complete list:

  • Bacon & cheddar burgers
  • Bacon & cheddar meatballs
  • Bacon & cheddar slider
  • Bacon & fried onion burger
  • Bacon & fried onion meatball
  • Bacon & fried onion slider
  • Badia seasoned ground chuck burger
  • Blue cheese burgers
  • Blue cheese meatballs
  • Blue cheese slider
  • Ground chuck
  • Ground chuck burgers
  • Ground chuck for chili
  • Ground chuck for meat loaf
  • Ground chuck slider
  • Jalapeno & cheddar slider
  • Jalapeno and cheddar burger
  • Jalapeno and cheddar meatballs
  • Meat loaf grillers
  • Mesquite seasoned ground chuck burger
  • Montreal seasoned chuck burger
  • Seasoned meatloaf (oven ready)
  • Spanish meatballs
  • Steakhouse seasoned ground chuck burger
  • Stuffed peppers (oven ready)
  • Stuffed pimento cheeseburger
  • Swiss & mushroom burger
  • Swiss & mushroom meatball
  • Swiss & mushroom slider

Though the news is a bit too late for some, the FDA is concerned that the contaminated meat might be sitting in customers’ freezers, so make sure you double-check yours. If you find that you did, in fact, purchase one of the items from the list, you can go to Publix for a full refund.

To keep up-to-date on all food recalls, be sure to check the USDA site regularly. And, always report illnesses that you believe may be linked to bad food. Better to be safe than sorry!

What are your thoughts on this ground beef recall? Did you purchase any of the items? If so, do you believe you got sick? What was the return process like?