Washington: US food provider General Mills has recalled about 414,000 cases of pizza products from supermarkets under Totino’s and Jeno’s labels because the pepperoni toppings on pizzas may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

General Mills spokesman Tom Forsythe, said, “We took action on that basis as a precaution, because of the possibility that a link might exist. However, to date we have found no E. coli in our plant, and we have found no E. coli in our products.”

U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) reported that the problem was uncovered after an investigation by the Tennessee Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into an outbreak of 21 cases of E. coli in Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin. The illness occurred between July 20 and October 10.

Nine out of 21 patients reported became ill after having eaten Totino’s or Jeno’s pizza with pepperoni topping and were hospitalized.

E. coli 0157 bacteria can cause serious illness, including stomach cramps, diarrhea, nausea, dehydration and fever. It is usually spread through contaminated food or drink.

The recall products includes eight types of Totino’s brand frozen pizza and three types of Jeno’s brand frozen pizza with pepperoni topping, or pepperoni in combination with other toppings.  

General Mills said that the packages show “EST. 7750” inside the USDA mark of inspection and a “best if used by” date on or before “02 APR 08 WS.”