Whitney Reed was one of thousands of Price Chopper customers to get a warning call this week.
"It said I had purchased beef that fell within certain dates and that I should return it to Price Chopper," Reed says.
Price Chopper, along with BJ's and several other area stores, sold ground beef supplied by Fairbank Farms in Western New York, that may have been contaminated with E Coli. A death in Albany County has already been linked to that contamination.
Reed, his wife and his daughter already ate the beef by the time they got the call and felt sick a few days later.
"We had diarrhea at the same time," Reed says. "No headaches, no fever, just the unpleasantness."
We contacted Price Chopper's headquarters in Rotterdam. CEO Neil Golub told us all of the safety measures were there...At their stores as well as Fairbank Farms.
"This producer we've been working with had a lot of controls that we thought were pretty good. Safe, quality food controls," Golub says. "Unfortunately, it got by."
Golub says it's an industry wide problem and right now, the technology isn't there for a fool proof system. He says if there was, price chopper would of course be using it.
Unlike cuts of meat, ground beef must be cooked to 160 degrees all the way through. Golub says that is the only way consumers can be completely safe.
"How often are you with people that say I want it to hop off the plate, I want it really rare? Well they run a risk," Golub says.
For now, Price Chopper has removed all of its Fairbank Farms products from the shelves. Golub says the beef won't be back until the situation is completely resolved.
Customers like Reed say thats a good start. But he says testing standards need to change...And they need to change soon.
"I know it's beyond me to understand how to fix it but it needs to be fixed," he says. "Someone can figure it out."
We did get in touch with Bj's. The company is sending out letters to customers who may have purchased the recalled beef. To get a refund you must bring the letter, not the beef, to your local store.
