The recall came because an Ohio family fell ill after eating meat produced by the company that was contaminated with E. coli, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Wednesday.
The recall involves beef sold as Kroger brands at Kroger Co. supermarkets; Butcher's Beef at Food Lion supermarkets; and generic beef sold to SAV-A-LOT, Spectrum Foods, Supervalu and the Defense Commissary Agency, company spokesman Gary Mickelson told The Associated Press.
Four children became ill after eating the meat with their family in Butler County, Ohio, in the second week of September, said Butler County Health Department director Pat Burg. A 9-year-old hild was hospitalized for about 10 days with severe diarrhea, said Burg, who declined to release the family's name.
Ground beef from the family's home tested positive for the bacteria. No other cases have been reported in the southwest Ohio county, Burg said.
The Ohio Department of Health confirmed that two Butler County siblings received medical treatment after becoming sick from E.coli, while other two children reported to be ill didn't get medical treatment, spokeswoman Tessie Pollock said.
The family told health officials that they bought the beef at a Kroger supermarket.
Customers are being urged to check their freezers for the beef.
The products being recalled include 5-pound packages of Kroger-brand ground beef packed in 40-pound cases, with a product code of D-0211 QW, which was distributed in Tennessee and Indiana; 3-pound packages of Butcher's Brand beef packed in 36-pound cases with the code D-0211 LWIF, which was distributed in North and South Carolina; and 3-pound packages of generic labeled beef packed in 36-pound cases with a product code D-0211 LWI, which was distributed in Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.
The beef, all 73/27 lean to fat ratio, had a "best before" date of Sept. 12 and the number 245D inked on the packages.
The ground beef was sold in pre-packaged printed tubes that are put directly into retail meat cases, Mickelson, Tyson Fresh Meat's spokesman, said in a news release. He said it is likely that most of the affected product has already been consumed but urged consumers to check their freezers and return or discard any beef listed in the recall.
South Dakota-based Tyson Fresh Meats is a subsidiary of Tyson Foods Inc., of Springdale, Ark.
