Recalls & Alerts
General Mills recalls Totino's, Jeno's pizza due to E. coli
By Sue Mueller
Nov 2, 2007 - 6:56:46 AM

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FRIDAY Nov. 2, 2007 (Foodconsumer.org) -- General Mills, Inc Thursday issued a voluntary call of about five million Totino's and Jeno's frozen pizzas with pepperoni toppings because the pepperoni may have been contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, Reuters reported.

About 414,000 cases of pizza products, with each container packed with 12 pizzas currently being recalled may be in stores as well as consumers' freezers.

The recalled pizzas were produced in its Wellston, Ohio, plant on or before Oct. 30 and distributed to retail establishments throughout the United States, according to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Services.

The recall was issued after government officials found 21 cases of E. coli illnesses in 10 states were linked to consumption of Totino's or Jeno's Pizza with pepperoni topping.

According to the FSIS, the following products are subject to recall:

10.2-ounce packages of "Totino's The Original Crisp Crust Party Pizza Pepperoni."

10.2-ounce packages of "Totino's The Original Crisp Crust Party Pizza, Classic Pepperoni."

10.2-ounce packages of "Totino's The Original Crisp Crust Party Pizza, Pepperoni Trio."

10.7-ounce packages of "Totino's The Original Crisp Crust Party Pizza, Combination Sausage & Pepperoni Pizza."

10.5-ounce packages of "Totino's The Original Crisp Crust Party Pizza, Three Meat Sausage, Canadian Style Bacon & Pepperoni Pizza."

10.9-ounce packages of "Totino's The Original Crisp Crust Party Pizza, Supreme Sausage & Pepperoni Pizza with Green Peppers & Onions."

6.8-ounce packages of "JENO'S CRISP `N TASTY PIZZA, PEPPERONI."

7.0-ounce packages of "JENO'S CRISP `N TASTY PIZZA, COMBINATION SAUSAGE AND PEPPERONI PIZZA."

7.2-ounce packages of "JENO'S CRISP `N TASTY PIZZA, SUPREME SAUSAGE AND PEPPERONI WITH GREEN PEPPERS AND ONION PIZZA."

For identification, each package bears the establishment number "EST. 7750" inside the USDA mark of inspection as well as a "best if used by" date on or before "02 APR 08 WS."   Consumers are urged to look in their freezers for similarly dated frozen pizza products and discard them if found.

The association between Totino's or Jeno's Pizza with pepperoni topping and E. coli illnesses was discovered following an investigation by the Tennessee Department of Health in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into a multi-state cluster of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses.

Cases of E coli illnesses were reported during the period of July 20 to Oct. 10, and all the patients recovered, according to the FSIS.

The states where cases of E. coli illnesses were reported include Illinois (1), Kentucky (3), Missouri (2), New York (2), Ohio (1), Pennsylvania (1), South Dakota (1), Tennessee (8), Virginia (1), and Wisconsin (1).

The investigation into the E. coli outbreak is ongoing.

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially lethal bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. Children, elderly people and persons with compromised immune systems are at high risk of serious complications from E. coli infections.