Health officials have confirmed that there are now two people that have died after consuming ground beef tainted with a possibly fatal strain of E. coli.
Lola Scott Russell, a spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said one of the individuals is a New York adult with a number of underlying health concerns. New Hampshire officials reported the other death. Russell said the suspected infections are in the northeastern U.S. and 18 are in New England. The CDC is investigating all the cases. There have now been 28 people to contract an illness associated with the E. coli outbreak as of October 28.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that the suspected beef was packaged Sept. 15 and 16 and, in most cases, carried sell-by dates between Sept. 19 and Sept. 28. Each package bears the establishment number “EST. 492″ inside the USDA mark of inspection or on the nutrition label. It was sold under the Fairbank Farms brand and other brands at BJ’s, ACME, Ford Brothers, Giant Food Stores, Price Chopper, Shaw’s and Trader Joe’s.
The beef was distributed to retailers in eight states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The stores receiving them included Trader Joe’s, Giant, Price Chopper, Wild Harvest and Shaw’s.