The United States Department of Defense is taking—well some defense against E. coli O157:H7—by mounting a recall of all 85 percent lean ground beef sold during May in commissaries on certain military bases around the country.
DOD issued the recalled after conducting lab tests on one beef supplier to the military. Anyone who purchased ground beef at commissaries on the named bases during the month of May should throw it away or return the product for full refunds.
The bases involved include:
Fort Monmouth, N.J. – the nation’s electronic warfare center.
Lakehurst Navy Base, N.J. -the Navy’s center for "industrial light and magic."
Naval Station Great Lakes, IL – headquarters for naval service training.
Fort McCoy, Wis. – The Army’s premier training center for force projection.
Bolling Air Force Base, D.C. – "The Chief’s Own" 11th Wing
Carlisle Barracks, PA – Home to the U.S. Army War College
Naval Submarine Base, Groton, Conn. – Home of U.S. Submarine Force.
Tobyhanna Army Depot, PA – Army’s Center for Industrial and Technical Excellence.
Fort Carson, CO – Division West, First Army.
& Fort Leavenworth, KS – "Intellectual Center of the Army."
E coli-laced ground beef isn’t going to take out any of these vital installations. However, we still are amazed at how critical are the missions of the bases included in this recall. A military friend says after the various rounds of base closures, it is difficult to find any military base in the United States that does not have a most critical mission.
Let’s hope they’ve removed the bad ground beef before anyone gets sick.
There’s small Boston Globe story here.