RICHMOND, Va. -- On the heels of a massive recall of romaine lettuce, Virginia consumers once again worry about a new food recall involving ground beef.
"Last night I had tacos with my boyfriend, and then now we woke up to a message talking about the beef recall, and we freaked out," consumer Keyris Manzanares said.
The new recall is an expansion of another beef recall issued by the USDA two months ago because of salmonella concerns
It adds an additional 5.1 million pounds of beef to the recall list bringing the total amount recalled to 12.1 million pounds.
All the recalled beef was produced between July 26 and Sept. 7
"It just makes you re-think where you're buying your meat," Manzanares said.
The USDA is warning that a lot of the products in this latest food recall might be in your freezer since they were made and sold earlier this year.
They want you to throw the beef out or return it immediately.
The impacted beef comes from the nation's largest beef processor, JBS USA, which is carried in Sam's Club and Kroger in Virginia.
But Elaine Lidholm with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said not to be alarmed.
"There is no need to panic. Our food is so much safer now than it was," Lidholm said.
She said advancements in technology are helping to eliminate potentially dangerous food, and that's why it might feel like we're hearing about more food recalls.
"We are also being able to test so much better than we could 3-5 years ago, the technology has improved exponentially," Lidholm said.
Lidholm also said that the number of people who have gotten sick from food born illnesses has remained very stable over the years.
Still, Manzanares plans to change her habits.
"I'm not going to stop eating ground beef, but I'm going to give more thought to where I am getting my beef from," Manzanares said.
For the complete list of recalled products, click here.
