|
The specter of E.Coli O157:H7 has once again raised its ugly head in the United States. This time the target is pizza. Frozen pizzas from General Mills have been recalled over the last three days thanks to fears they are contaminated with E.coli.
414,000 cases of pizza products with pepperoni toppings produced in General Mills' Ohio factory have been voluntarily recalled. Totino's or Jeno's brand frozen pizzas with pepperoni toppings are the implicated products. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that as of November 1, 21 isolates of E. coli O157:H7 had been detected in 10 states.
The samples were collected from sick people exhibiting E.coli symptoms in Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin. "At least 8 people have been hospitalized, and 4 have developed a type of kidney failure known as hemolytic-uremic syndrome, or HUS," the CDC said in a release.
Escherichia coli or (E. coli) is a bacterium normally found in the gut of human beings. Under normal circumstances, the bacteria play an important role in waste processing, vitamin K production, and food absorption from the large intestine.
However the E. coli strain O157:H7 is associated with a host of illnesses in man. Prime among these diseases are food poisoning, urinary tract infections, peritonitis, meningitis and septicemia.
The O157:H7 strain of E.coli was linked to the outbreak caused by fresh bagged spinach in late 2006. In the very young and the very old, E.coli can prove to be a fatal infection. E.coli is also found in raw and undercooked beef, infected water and milk.
Symptoms of E.coli infection include bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps. Most E.coli infections are linked to consuming undercooked, contaminated ground beef, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the current outbreak, it is unclear as to how the E.coli found its way into pepperoni toppings.. However authorities have advised consumers to throw away any frozen pizza present in their freezer. The following brands if still present in your freezer, must be discarded,
Totino's Party Supreme bearing stock keeping units or UPC codes 42800-10700
Totino's Three Meat bearing stock keeping units or UPC codes 42800-10800
Totino's Pepperoni bearing stock keeping units or UPC codes 42800-11400
Totino's Pepperoni bearing stock keeping units or UPC codes 42800-92114
Totino's Classic Pepperoni bearing stock keeping units or UPC codes 42800-11402
Totino's Pepperoni Trio bearing stock keeping units or UPC codes 42800-72157
Totino's Party Combo bearing stock keeping units or UPC codes 42800-11600
Totino's Combo bearing stock keeping units or UPC codes 42800-92116
Jeno's Crisp 'n Tasty Supreme bearing stock keeping units or UPC codes 35300-00561
Jeno's Crisp 'n Tasty Pepperoni bearing stock keeping units or UPC codes 35300-00572
Jeno's Crisp 'n Tasty Combo bearing stock keeping units or UPC codes 35300-00576
Consumers can contact Totino’s / Jeno’s for product replacement by clipping the UPC (bar code) symbol from each pizza box and sending their UPC's, along with their name and address to:
Totino's / Jeno’s
P.O. Box 200 - Pizza
Minneapolis, MN 55440-0200
The product itself should be thrown away. Consumers with additional questions about the recall should contact the company at (800) 949-9055.
The CDC has the following guidelines to prevent E.coli infections:
* Cook all ground beef and hamburger thoroughly
* If you are served an undercooked hamburger or other ground beef product in a restaurant, send it back for further cooking.
* Wash fruits and vegetables under running water, especially those that will not be cooked.
* Make sure that persons with diarrhea, especially children, wash their hands carefully with soap after bowel movements to reduce the risk of spreading infection.
Following simple guidelines can prevent E.coli infections. However in the frozen pizza recall presently underway in the US, authorities are advising consumers to either throw away or return the suspected products.
 Add as favourites (34)
Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.4 |
Health 
