A series of frozen food snacks have been recalled due to potential contamination with Escherichia coli bacteria. The defective goods include several varieties of frozen snack produced under the Farm Rich brand by Rich Products Corporation. The recall covers 10.5 million pounds of food, including Farm Rich Mini Quesadillas, Mini Pizza Slices, Philly Cheese Steaks and Mozzarella Bites. The recall was announced by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of last week, 24 cases of E. coli illness had been reported. None of the cases have been fatal, thankfully, but several of them caused the victim to be hospitalized. E. coli sicknesses can lead to severe, even bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping, vomiting, dehydration and kidney failure. Symptoms generally appear three to four days after ingesting the bacteria, but they can appear anywhere from one to ten days after exposure, according to the CDC.
The contamination is being investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service. Initially, Rich Products Corporation recalled just fewer than 200,000 pounds of products based on early reports of contamination. The recall was recently expanded to include a wider range of products. The full list is available at the USDA website.
Source: CNN, “Frozen food recall expands to 10.5 million pounds,” 29 March 2013
