Twenty-five people in eight states, including two in Connecticut, have been sickened by bacteria associated with a recall earlier this week of contaminated ground beef, and the producer has expanded its recall of frozen beef patties to 21.7 million pounds of products.
The Topps Meat Co. of Elizabeth, N.J., has voluntarily expanded its recall to include items produced between Sept. 25, 2006, and Sept. 25 of this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Saturday.
The two people stricken in Connecticut have recovered, said William Gerrish, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Health. Gerrish declined to say where they lived. The E. coli bacteria in both cases matched the strain found to have contaminated Topps beef, but investigators are still trying to determine whether the cases are connected.
E. coli bacteria can cause stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea and dehydration, and in extreme cases, kidney failure. Symptoms generally clear up within a week but can be deadly for the very young, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.
Connecticut officials had warned consumers on Wednesday not to eat certain Topps products after at least six people fell ill in New York. Three of those people were hospitalized, though all were reported to be recovering. The initial recall involved less than 400,000 pounds of the frozen ground beef.
The USDA on Saturday said 25 illnesses are under investigation, with cases also reported in Florida, Indiana, Maine, New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Three cases have been tied directly to Topps beef so far, said Amanda Eamich, spokeswoman for the USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service.
The expanded recall involves boxes of hamburger patties ranging from 1.5 to 10 pounds that were distributed to food service institutions in the New York region and retail establishments nationwide.
A Topps spokeswoman said Saturday the expanded recall is "an extra measure the company has taken to ensure the safety of our customers." The company believes "most of the recalled products have already been safely consumed," she said.
She said Topps is working with government officials to identify the possible source of contamination.
Each recalled package bears the establishment number "Est 9748" inside the USDA mark of inspection and "sell-by" dates between Sept. 25, 2007, and Sept. 25, 2008.
Label names include Butcher's Best, Kohler Foods, Mike's, Pathmark, Rastelli's, Roma-Topps, Sam's Choice Backyard Gourmet Beef Burgers, Sand Castle, Shop Rite, Topps and West Side.
The products have been sold at Shaw's, Stop & Shop, Shop Rite and Price Chopper supermarkets, and possibly other stores in the state, Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell Jr. said. Consumers should return any recalled product to the store where it was purchased for a full refund.
Anyone with questions may call the Topps recall line at 888-734-0451. To view information from the USDA online, go to: www.fsis.usda.gov/Fsis_Recalls.
A full list of the recalled products and a fact sheet on E. coli can be found at the Topps Meat Co. website: www.toppsmeat.com.
Contact David K. Funkhouser at dfunkhouser@courant.com.
Copyright © 2007, The Hartford Courant
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