As of September 12, at least 7 people have been infected with E. coli after eating ground beef in HelloFresh meal kits between June and August 2022, according to the CDC outbreak investigation.
Six of the victims were hospitalized with a severe illness. The cases were reported in 6 states, including Maryland (1), New Jersey (2), New York (1), Pennsylvania, (1), Virginia (1) and Washington (1).
More illnesses were likely never reported, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“The true number of sick people in an outbreak is likely higher than the number reported, and the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses. This is because many people recover without medical care and are not tested for E. coli.”
No recall was issued because the HelloFresh meal kits have already been distributed, but some people might have the contaminated ground beef in their freezer.
The warning involves HelloFresh meal kits that were shipped from July 2 to July 21, 2022. Do not eat it if it has “EST.46841” inside the USDA inspection mark and “EST#46841 L1 22 155” or “EST#46841 L5 22 155” on the side of the packaging.
Health officials are investigating if there are additional ground beef items from HelloFresh that could also be contaminated.
