Monday, July 28, 2008

Dear Customer,

To ensure your safety, we are withdrawing the raw ground beef products with the following sell-by dates: June 9 – July 29. These products may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. There have been two reported illnesses associated with this withdrawal at this time. If you have consumed this product and are experiencing symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, or severe abdominal pain, please contact your physician. The onset of symptoms is generally within 3 to 8 days of consumption. Persons of all ages are potentially susceptible to the infection, but children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems are at the greatest risk. Please check your freezer for these products. If you have any unused product, please return it to our Service Desk for a full refund. For a complete list of products involved in this withdrawal, please click here.

This withdrawal could be related to the same processing facility that was implicated by a national recall issued by the Kroger Company in recent weeks. Unfortunately, our longtime supplier, Coleman Natural Meats™, had used this processing plant on a temporary basis, and apparently some of our beef was affected. Only two illnesses have been reported out of over 25,000 purchases of ground beef during this time period. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, we are withdrawing all of our ground products that may have contained beef processed at this particular plant.

Our in-store practices regarding ground beef are very strict, and have been favorably reviewed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as well as by state and local agencies. This withdrawal was in no part due to incorrect handling on the part of Dorothy Lane Market. Please be assured that our friends at Coleman are working with us to remedy this situation with the utmost attention and urgency, so that going forward you can have confidence in the quality and safety of all products you buy from us.

We appreciate your patronage of Dorothy Lane Market, and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience. For further information, please contact us by e-mail at kathy@dorothylane.com or by telephone at 937-434-1294.

Yours truly,

Norman Mayne, CEO
Calvin Mayne, VP
Jack Gridley, VP of Meat & Seafood
Kathy Neufarth, Director of Consumer Affairs

The USDA reminds us of the following safe handling procedures: you should only eat ground beef or ground beef patties that have been cooked to a safe internal temperature of 160°F. Color is NOT a reliable indicator that ground beef or ground beef patties have been cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria such as E. coli 0157:H7. The only way to be sure ground beef is cooked to a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria is to use a thermometer to measure the internal temperature.

Affected Products:

View Recalled Products Archive