Warning!

Meat recall expands again on E. coli fears

Up to 5.7 million pounds of beef in 11 states may be contaminated
MSNBC News ServicesUpdated: 1 hour, 47 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES - A meat supplier has again expanded a voluntary recall of beef products because they may be contaminated with E. coli.The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement Saturday that United Food Group LLC had expanded an earlier recall to include approximately 5.7 million pounds of fresh and frozen ground beef after a person in Arizona tested positive for E. coli. In all, 14 people in six states have been sickened by beef from the California-based firm. All patients have recovered, the government said in a statement.The ground beef products subject to recall were produced between April 6 and April 20 and were shipped to retail stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. They were sold under brand names Moran's All Natural, Miller Meat Company, Stater Bros., Inter-American Products, Inc., and Basha's.The grocery stores affected included Albertson's, Basha's, Grocery Outlet, Fry's, "R" Ranch Markets, Save-A-Lot, Save-Mart, Scolari's Wholesale Markets, Smart and Final, Smith's, Stater Bros., Superior Warehouse and Trader Joe's.

The products had sell-by dates from April 15-May 7, and product labels carried the establishment number "EST. 1241" inside the USDA mark of inspection or printed on the package. The frozen ground beef patty products bear a sell-by date between July 6 and Jan. 20, 2008.

Even though the sell-by dates are past, did you freeze any of this meat?

Another meat recall
On Friday, Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. recalled more than 40,000 pounds of ground beef shipped to Wal-Mart stores in 12 states after samples tested at a Sherman, Texas, plant showed signs of E. coli contamination. No illnesses had been tied to the Tyson products. Springdale-based Tyson Foods Inc. said the recall was not related to contaminated ground beef distributed by United Food Group LLC.The recalled Tyson products were sent to Wal-Mart stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas, Tyson said.

The United Food Group recall, which was first announced June 3 and expanded on June 6, was expanded again when a test for E. coli came back positive for a person in Arizona, the Department of Agriculture said.

Symptoms of E. coli include stomach cramps that may be severe and diarrhea that may turn bloody within one to three days. E. coli sometimes can lead to complications including kidney failure.

Customers with questions about the recall can call United Food Group's hot line at 1-800-325-4164. Those with recalled products should either throw the product away or return to point of purchase for a refund.