Florida firm recalls ground beef over E.coli fear

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Florida company recalled 8,200 pounds of frozen ground beef because the meat may be contaminated with the debilitating E.coli bacteria, the government's Food Safety and Inspection Service said Thursday.

The FSIS, an office under the U.S. Agriculture Department, said Blue Ribbon Meats of Hialeah, Florida, voluntarily recalled the 10-pound and 20-pound boxes of seasoned beef patties and meatloaf patties.

It was the fifth recall caused by suspected E.coli this month and follows the recall at Topps Meat Co of 21.7 million pounds of beef linked to 30 cases of E.coli-related illnesses, the fifth largest beef or poultry recall in U.S. history.

Topps, the largest American manufacturer of beef patties, went out of business as a result.

"The frozen beef products were produced between September 14 and September 27, 2007, and were sent to a distributor intended for a correctional institution in Florida and to a distributor intended for a subsequent distributor in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands," FSIS said in a statement.

"FSIS has received no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of these products," it added.

FSIS said this week it would expand testing and more rapidly recall infected meat to fight E.coli.

E.coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacteria that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. The very young, seniors and persons with compromised immune systems are the most vulnerable to foodborne disease.