On October 31, Fairbank Farms issued a recall of 250 tons of beef on fears it could be contaminated with E.coli. A cluster of people suffering from E.coli poisoning across a number of states are thought to have eaten beef, with at least some believed to be associated with recalled produce.

Earlier this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that two death and 26 illnesses may be linked to the tainted Fairbanks beef. One of the deaths involved a New York adult with several underlying health conditions, while the other was in New Hampshire, said CDC spokeswoman Lola Scott Russell. The majority of illnesses have been reported in the North Eastern US, with one in Dakota and another in California.

The latest outbreaks come as the safety of US ground beef has come under national scrutiny. Last month, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand proposed to make testing of ground beef for E.coli mandatory.

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