030321 Ohio Meat Supplier Recalls Ground Beef

Sharonville, OH - A food processing company is voluntarily recalling about 106,000 pounds of ground beef, and federal officials are testing whether the meat could be responsible for E. coli infections in three Ohio children.

American Foods Group said the beef was processed Jan. 24 at its Sharonville plant and was carried by the Kroger and Meijer chains. None of the beef is currently in stores.

The children became ill in early February, all with the same strain of the bacteria, said Kristopher Weiss, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Health. Officials said Wednesday that while bacteria had been found in the recalled beef, it was still being tested to determine if it caused the children's illnesses.

The beef was sold from Jan. 25 through Feb. 3. at Kroger stores in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia; and Meijer stores in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Kentucky.

Kroger sold the beef in trays and as hamburger patties with the code numbers 3024 and 3025 below the store logo. The Meijer brand ground chuck was sold in 1-pound trays with the code number 3024 below the UPC bar code.

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