MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, November 2, 2007 (ENS) - General Mills Thursday announced a voluntary recall of Totino's and Jeno's frozen pizzas with pepperoni toppings because of possible contamination of the pepperoni topping with E. coli bacteria.

The recall affects 414,000 cases of pizza products Totino's and Jeno's now in stores and all similar pizza products in consumers' freezers. Consumers are advised to discard the products.

The frozen pizza products were produced in the company's Wellston, Ohio plant and distributed to retail establishments nationwide.

The problem was uncovered by state and federal authorities investigating 21 occurrences of E. coli-related illnesses in 10 states.

About half of the people who became ill were hospitalized as a result. The earliest case reported to state authorities occurred on July 20, and the latest case reported occurred on October 10.

Nine of the 21 people reported having eaten Totino's or Jeno's pizza with pepperoni topping at some point before becoming ill. Since July 1, Totino's and Jeno's have distributed more than 120 million pizzas nationwide.

Working in cooperation with federal and state food safety authorities, the company launched an investigation after learning of the potential problem.

The investigation is ongoing, and the company says it is cooperating fully with all state and federal authorities.

The Tennessee State Department of Health, working with the Centers for Disease Control and health officials in several other states, coordinated a study to identify the source of these infections. Eating a Totino's or Jeno's brand frozen pizza containing pepperoni was significantly associated with illness, investigators found.

The bacteria contaminating the pepperoni - E. coli O157:H7 - is a potentially deadly organism that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. Seniors, the very young, and persons with compromised immune systems are the most susceptible, but of the 21 people who fell ill after eating Totino's or Jeno's pizza, no deaths have been reported.

Any consumers concerned about an illness are advised to contact a physician. Anyone diagnosed by a physician as having an illness related to E. coli O157:H7 is also urged to contact state and local public health authorities.

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

Consumers with additional questions about the recall should contact the company at (800) 949-9055. Representatives will provide information about how to contact the company for a full refund.

General Mills reminds consumers to always thoroughly cook all products that are not ready-to-eat, such as frozen pizzas, according to package instructions.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2007. All rights reserved.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2007. All rights reserved.