Advisory Regarding Ground Beef Sold in Five States From September 19 - November 5, 2007

Business Wire, Dec 21, 2007

Safeway Urges Consumers to Practice Safe Food Handling and Preparation Practices

PLEASANTON, Calif. -- Safeway has been notified by the USDA that it may have received raw ground beef products affected with a strain of Salmonella Newport between September 19 and November 5 in five states -- Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico. There have been no reported illnesses in Hawaii or New Mexico. There is a single reported case in Idaho that has no apparent ties to Safeway stores.

This is not a recall, nor is the ground beef in Safeway stores today the subject of the alert. The USDA alert refers to products that may have been sold at Safeway stores seven or more weeks ago. This notice also does not include fresh ground beef patties. The USDA alert does not relate to store handling or food safety practices.

To date, no Safeway product has tested positive for Salmonella Newport and the USDA has not definitively identified one product, retailer or establishment that is the source of the contamination. In response to the alert, however, the company is asking customers who have raw ground beef products in their freezer purchased in these particular states between September 19 and November 5 to discard the product, as advised by the USDA.

Safeway is committed to ensuring the safety of our customers and the products we sell. We employ rigorous food safety standards in our stores and insist on the same level of commitment from our suppliers and vendors. Our food safety standards and practices are among the strictest in the industry.

Proper cooking kills Salmonella Newport. Safeway is using this opportunity to remind consumers of proper procedures for cooking ground beef and other food products.

* Wash hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling raw meat and poultry. Wash cutting boards, dishes and utensils with hot, soapy water. Immediately clean spills.

* Keep raw meat, fish and poultry away from other food that will not be cooked. Use separate cutting boards for raw meat and cooked foods. Consumers should eat ground beef only when it is cooked to a safe internal temperature of 160[deg]F.

* Color is NOT a reliable indicator that ground beef has been cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria. The only way to be sure ground beef is cooked to a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria is to use a thermometer to measure the internal temperature.

* Refrigerate raw meat within two hours after purchase or one hour if temperatures exceed 90[deg]F. Refrigerate cooked meat and poultry within two hours after cooking.

Consumers with food safety questions can call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-674-6854 or the USDA food safety consumer website at AskKaren.gov.