WASHINGTON – Nebraska Beef Ltd. of Omaha has expanded its recall of beef to include all beef manufacturing trimmings and other products intended for use with ground beef produced between May 16 and June 26, totaling about 5.3 million pounds.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said late last week that the recall is being expanded as part of an ongoing investigation to an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that began in Michigan and Ohio.

FSIS said it has concluded that the production practices employed by Nebraska Beef, Ltd. are insufficient to effectively control E. coli in their beef products that are intended for grinding. The products subject to recall may have been produced under unsanitary conditions.

The products subject to recall were further processed into ground beef at other firms, and will likely not bear the establishment number "EST 19336" on products made available for direct consumer purchase.

Grocery chain operator The Kroger Co. has also expanded its recall in relation to Nebraska Beef’s expansion. The company said that it is removing all Nebraska Beef products produced after May 21 as a precaution.

"Ground beef in stores today comes from other suppliers not involved in the recall," Kroger spokeswoman Meghan Glynn said Wednesday.

The FSIS said the outbreak in western Ohio and southeastern Michigan was linked through the epidemiological investigation and by their PFGE pattern, or DNA fingerprint, found in PulseNet, a database maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Sources: Food Safety and Inspection Service, Associated Press