Three varieties of ground beef patties recalled

ST. PAUL PARK, Minn. - Simek's Inc. has voluntarily recalled three varieties of frozen ground beef patties because they might be contaminated with E. coli bacteria, which can cause severe flu-like symptoms.

At least three people who ate the patties in the past month became ill, and each tested positive for E. coli, but state health department officials said Wednesday other consumers may have become ill without realizing the cause.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture lab confirmed Wednesday that a sample was contaminated with E. coli. The source of the contamination was under investigation.

E. coli can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration, headache and nausea, particularly in the very young, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems.

The recall only includes products with lot numbers that begin with the four digits 0162, which amount to a third of the patties Simek's has sold since July.

The recalled items involve:

-Simek's one-third pound ground beef patties sold in six-pound boxes.

-Simek's two-pound bags of 91 percent lean ground beef patties.

-Simek's 10-pound boxes of quarter-pound ground beef patties.

The patties, produced by Rochester Meat Co. of Rochester and distributed by Simek's, were sold at 13 Twin Cities-area Simek's stores and nine grocery stores in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Simek's officials said they immediately pulled 30,000 pounds of the patties from their stores when they learned of the problem.

''It was on the shelves as late as yesterday, but we did pull it off within an hour,'' spokesman Paul Novara said Wednesday.

Novara said customers should bring any recalled patties back to a Simek's store for a full refund or to exchange them for other ground beef products.