 |
|
General Mills on Thursday recalled about
five million frozen pepperoni pizzas sold in the U.S. under the Totino's
and Jeno's labels because the pepperoni toppings on these pizzas may be
tainted with E. coli bacteria. (File Photo)
|
BEIJING,
Nov. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- General Mills on Thursday recalled about five million
frozen pepperoni pizzas sold in the U.S. under the Totino's and Jeno's labels
because the pepperoni toppings on these pizzas may be tainted with E. coli
bacteria.
The suburban Minneapolis-based company said the
recall affects about 414,000 cases of pizza products currently in stores and all
similar pizza products that might be in consumers' freezers.
"We took action on that basis as a precaution,
because of the possibility that a link might exist," said General Mills
spokesman Tom Forsythe. "However, to date we have found no E. coli in our plant,
and we have found no E. coli in our products."
The problem was discovered after an investigation by
the Tennessee Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention into an outbreak of 21 cases of E. coli O157:H7 in Illinois,
Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee,
Virginia and Wisconsin, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety
and Inspection Service (FSIS).
The illnesses occurred between July 20 and Oct. 10,
according to the FSIS Thursday.
Nine of the 21 people reported having eaten Totino's
or Jeno's pizza with pepperoni topping prior to becoming ill. Since July 1,
Totino's and Jeno's have distributed more than 120 million pizzas nationwide.
E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacteria that
can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. its symptoms can also include stomach
cramps. People typically are ill for two to five days but can develop
complications including kidney failure.
The recall includes eight types of Totino's brand
frozen pizza and three types of Jeno's brand frozen pizza with pepperoni
topping, or pepperoni in combination with other toppings.
The packages show "EST. 7750" inside the USDA mark of
inspection and a "best if used by" date on or before "02 APR 08 WS," according
to the company.
The company said that the pepperoni itself came from
a separate supplier, not produced at the plant itself, but it declined to
release the name of the pepperoni distributor.
(Agencies)
