Latest US food scare - 3.3 million pounds of frozen meat pizza products!

The latest food recall in the United States involves approximately 3.3 million pounds of frozen meat pizza products which are suspected of being contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

The frozen meat pizza products were produced by General Mills on or before October 30th and were distributed to retail establishments across the nation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service say the products may be linked to an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses.

The contamination first came to light during an investigation into a multi-state cluster of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in which more than twenty people were affected; one in Illinois, 3 in Kentucky, 2 in Missouri, 2 in New York, 1 in Ohio, 1 in Pennsylvania, 1 in South Dakota, 8 in Tennessee, 1 in Virginia and 1 in Wisconsin.

All the cases occurred between July 20th and October 10th; eight were hospitalized and four developed a form of kidney failure; all have since recovered.

The Tennessee Department of Health in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suspect the illnesses were linked to the product.

General Mills has now recalled 414,000 cases of pizza products under the Totino's and Jeno's brand names due to possible E. coli contamination as the CDC continues investigations into the outbreak.

The pizzas include Totino's Party Supreme, Three Meat Pepperoni, Classic Pepperoni, Pepperoni Trio, Party Combo and Combo.

Under the Jeno's brand the pizzas in question include Crisp & Tasty Supreme, Crisp & Tasty Pepperoni, and Crisp & Tasty Combo.

Apparently since July 1st over 120 million of these frozen pizzas have been sent to retailers such as Safeway, Vons, Ralph's and Albertson's stores.

Each package also bears the establishment number "EST. 7750" inside the USDA mark of inspection as well as a "best if used by" date on or before "02 APR 08 WS."

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration.

The very young, seniors and those with compromised immune systems are the most vulnerable to foodborne illness.

Symptoms include stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea, and diarrhea which usually occur 3 to 4 days after the consumption of the contaminated product

Consumers with questions can contact the General Mills operations consumer hot line at (800) 949-9055.