Published: December 01, 2007 02:40 pm      

Knox woman may have died from E-coli

By Heather Cole/Staff Writer

The death of a Knox County woman is under investigation and E-coli bacteria is believed to be the source of her illness. Vickie Shelton, 47, died Monday afternoon at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington after being admitted.

Officials at the U.S. Department of Heath in Fayette County are testing samples of ground beef Shelton had reportedly consumed prior to becoming sick. American Foods Group of Green Bay, Wisc. issued the recall on products produced in October and reportedly shipped to retailers and distributors in seven states including Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Virginia.

The recall, issued Nov. 24, is a class 1 recall with health risks listed as “high.” American Foods Group voluntarily recalled approximately 95,927 pounds of various coarse and fine ground beef products because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service stated in a news release.

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. The very young, seniors and persons with compromised immune systems are the most susceptible to food-borne illness.

Each shipping label bears the establishment number “Est. 18076” inside the USDA mark of inspection according to the press release. The products subject to recall were distributed for further processing and repackaging and will not bear the recalling firm’s establishment number on the package. As the use-by date for products subject to this recall may have expired, consumers can contact their retailers to ask if they received any of these products and if so, consumers are urged to look in their freezers for these products and return or discard them if found.

Anyone with concerns about possible illness from the contaminated products is urged to contact a physician.