Company recalls 21.7 million pounds of beef

New Jersey firm expands recall because of E. coli concerns
Associated Press

TRENTON, N.J. - The Topps Meat Co. on Saturday expanded its recall of frozen hamburger patties to include 21.7 million pounds of ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria that sickened more than a dozen people in eight states.

The recall of products distributed to retail grocery stores and food service institutions in the United States was a drastic increase from the 332,000 pounds recalled Tuesday.

The recall represents all Topps products with either a sell by date  or a best if used by date between Sept. 25 this year and Sept. 25, 2008. The Elizabeth-based company said this information is found on a package s back panel.

All recalled products also have a USDA establishment number of EST 9748, which is located on the back panel of the package and-or in the USDA legend, the company said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday it had suspended the grinding of raw products at the Topps plant after inspectors found inadequate safety measures at the Topps plant. The USDA declined to detail the inadequate safety measures.

A full list of the recalled products is available at http://www.toppsmeat.com/.

Also see: 21.7_million_pounds_of_beef_recalled_-_Diet_&_Nutrition_-_MSNBC.com.htm