Recall: Nearly 57 tons of ground beef for possible E coli

CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) — The federal government says a meat company in Georgia has recalled tons of ground beef for possible contamination with E. coli bacteria.

The bacteria is an unusual strain that has sickened 156 people in 10 states , hospitalizing 20 of them. Ground beef had been described as the likely source. However, officials say they're still testing to see whether the recalled beef is related to the outbreak.

A recall notice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Service says K2D Foods is recalling about 56.7 tons (51.4 metric tons) of meat. K2D does business as Colorado Premium Foods of Carrollton, Georgia. The meat is in 48-pound boxes labeled "ground beef puck" for institutional use.

Calls to the company's headquarters in Greeley, Colorado, weren't immediately returned.