WinCo widens hamburger recall

MODESTO, Calif. – WinCo Foods on Saturday expanded its hamburger recall to include ground beef sold at its 70 stores in California, Nevada, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Utah.

The original recall, announced a week ago, was for ground beef purchased at a store in Modesto, Calif. An independent lab involved with a survey of supermarket ground beef found that two samples purchased from the Modesto store were tainted with an E. coli bacteria that causes foodborne illness.

But, as government agencies investigated, “new information has come to light that potentially implicates WinCo’s ground beef suppliers,” the discount retailer said Saturday. The recall time frame is expanded to include fresh hamburger packed in Styrofoam trays with a sale date of March 28 through April 9.

Eating undercooked hamburger tainted with E. coli may cause stomach cramping, vomiting and diarrhea, sometimes with bloody stool. It can also lead to kidney damage and serious illness.

Anyone with these symptoms after eating hamburger bought from WinCo stores is advised to contact a health care provider.