Canada recalls 135 brands of ground beef

OTTAWA, March 20 (UPI) -- Canadian food retailers and restaurants were scrambling Tuesday to comply with a massive federal recall of potentially contaminated frozen ground beef.

A recall that began Feb. 18 was expanded to 135 products of frozen ground beef that came from a now-bankrupt meat processing facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Postmedia News reported.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned ground beef from the New Food Classics facility could be contaminated with the potentially fatal E. coli O157 H7 strain of bacteria.

The agency said there is no way to see, taste or smell the contamination, the Toronto Star said.

The frozen ground beef products were manufactured between July 1, 2011 and Feb. 15, 2012, the CFIA said.

The recall created a national stir among restaurant chains, supermarkets, hotels and hospitals, all forced to inspect their frozen beef inventory, the Star said.

The regulator said one person became sick from the beef in October, which led to the investigation.

The list of recalled brands of meat is at www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/recarapp/2012/20120319ce.shtml.