Meat Recall near YOU

Kroger Issues Voluntary Recall

If you have Kroger ground beef sold between May 21 and June 8 with sell-by dates in the same time frame, don't eat it.

The grocer issued a voluntary recall of ground beef sold at its stores in the Columbus and Toledo areas and in Michigan. If you have meat from that time period, throw it away or return it for a refund.

Kroger's decision to recall its products does not end an investigation into the original source of E. coli-tainted meat responsible for an outbreak in Ohio and Michigan, nor does it rule out the possibility that meat purchased elsewhere is contaminated.

None of the Kroger meat in question remains for sale. Gina Nicholson, food-safety manager for the grocer's Columbus division, said it is unclear how many pounds are involved.

Kroger buys meat from several suppliers, which also distribute meat to other retailers, Nicholson said. She did not know how many suppliers were being considered as possible sources of the tainted beef.

Federal investigators continue to probe the origins of meat responsible for the outbreak. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture did not respond yesterday to a request for an update of that effort.

Ohio health officials yesterday genetically matched bacteria found in ground beef sold at a Gahanna Kroger to 33 DNA-linked illnesses, 17 in Ohio and 16 in Michigan.

The state Department of Health's laboratory has confirmed that a beef sample from a Franklin County resident sickened by E. coli O157:H7 is contaminated with bacteria identical to that associated with the outbreak. Samples in Michigan also match.

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