Unwelcome Topping Forces General Mills Pizza Recall

Minneapolis Star Tribune (MN)

November 2, 2007

General Mills Inc. voluntarily recalled nearly 5 million pizzas Thursday after an investigation by federal and state regulators found that the pepperoni topping likely caused several E. coli-related illnesses.

That number includes the Totino’s and Jeno’s brand pizzas that are currently at stores, but not the number that could still be in consumers’ freezers.

“There is absolutely no way to quantify how much pizza is in the freezer,” General Mills spokesman Tom Forsythe said.

The Golden Valley, MN, company has sold about 120 million frozen pizzas nationwide since July 1. Of that number, an estimated 60% included pepperoni.

From mid-July until mid-October, an investigation led by the Tennessee Department of Health found 21 people in 10 states fell ill with E. coli. At least eight people were hospitalized with the foodborne illness, which can cause bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps lasting a few days on average. Four of the victims have developed kidney failure, according to a statement from the Centers for Disease Control.

“Eating a Totino’s or Jeno’s brand frozen pizza containing pepperoni was significantly associated with illness,” according to the CDC statement.

However, of those 21 cases, only nine people reported having eaten Totino’s or Jeno’s pizzas prior to becoming ill. A CDC spokesman said the strain of E. coli had the same genetic fingerprint, so the agency believes the 21 cases are related. He said many people can’t remember exactly what they ate before getting sick. States typically will test returned and unopened products for additional evidence of the infection’s origin.

“We have found no evidence of E. coli in our plant and no evidence of E. coli in our products,” said Forsythe. The pizzas were produced at the company’s plant in Wellston, OH, and distributed nationwide. This is the sole plant making pizza for General Mills, and it is still producing products that don’t include pepperoni. General Mills doesn’t make the pepperoni, and Forsythe would not name the meat supplier.

Jean Kinsey, co-director of the Food Industry Center at the University of Minnesota, said pepperoni seems like “a strange culprit” for E. coli but figures it must have been undercooked. Ground beef is most commonly associated with the contamination, which originates from the fecal content of animals.

Forsythe said General Mills only found out about the problem Tuesday and proceeded with the recall as a precaution. “This is a decision of considerable consequence made in the interest of public safety,” he said.

The recall is one of the largest the company has seen in years, said Forsythe, who could not estimate its cost to the company. The company doesn’t break out pizza sales, but Forsythe said it was a small portion of its $12.4 billion in revenue last year.