The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS) has issued an E. coli alert for Organic Rancher ground beef sold at Whole Foods and other stores.
Organic Rancher E. coli Alert
The Organic Rancher ground beef E. coli alert includes:
- Raw ground beef produced on May 22, 2025, and May 23, 2025
- 1-lb. vacuum-packed packages
- 85% lean, 15% fat
- Use or Freeze By 06-19-25 and 06-20-25.
- Establishment number “EST. 4027” inside the USDA mark of inspection.
- Sold at Whole Foods and other stores in CT, GA, IL, and MD
NPC Processing Inc. of Shelburne, VT, notified USDA FSIS of the problem after discovering that they had shipped into commerce ground beef product that tested positive for E. coli O157:H7.
E. coli O157:H7
E. coli O157:H7 is a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) strain first recognized as a human pathogen in 1982 when two deadly outbreaks were linked to fast food hamburgers. Shiga toxins are poisonous to humans. E. coli O157:H7 is one of six STEC strains that cause most E. coli illnesses in the U.S.
In the four decades since it was discovered, E. coli O157:H7 has caused an estimated 62 million food poisoning illnesses each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These illnesses result in 1,800 hospitalizations and 3,000 cases of of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) annually. HUS is a form of kidney failure that is a complication for about 7 percent of people with E. coli infections, most often children under 5 years of age.
Ground beef used to be the food item that caused the most E. coli infections. But, since 2013, it has been second to leafy greens.