Beef Recall Expands to 5.3M Pounds

Nebraska Beef is expanding a recall to include all 5.3 million pounds of meat it produced for ground beef between May 16 and June 26. Federal investigators have linked the company's products to an outbreak of E. coli illnesses affecting 40 people in Michigan and Ohio. Some Nebraska Beef products were sold by grocer Kroger Co., which has recalled ground beef products in more than 20 states.

The USDA says Nebraska Beef's production practices were insufficient to effectively control E. coli bacteria. "The products subject to recall may have been produced under unsanitary conditions," the government said. All the beef being recalled was sold to wholesalers and distributors for further processing, so consumer labels likely will not include the "EST 19336" code that identifies Nebraska Beef. (More ground beef stories.)