LET'S HAVE A PIZZA POTTY

By now, you’ve probably heard that 5 million frozen pizzas, most sold under General Mills’ Totino’s and Jeno’s labels, have been recalled because of an e. coli contamination problem in pepperoni that was produced by an outside contractor. If you haven’t heard, you can read the Tribune story.

The problem may have come from pepperoni on pizzas produced at a General Mills plant in Ohio, the suburban Minneapolis-based company said. It said the pepperoni itself came from a separate supplier, not produced at the plant itself, but it declined to release the name of the pepperoni distributor.The voluntary recall covers pizzas containing pepperoni that have been produced since July, when the first of 21 E. coli illnesses under investigation by state and federal authorities emerged.

As of this writing, the 21 lab-confirmed cases have affected people in Illinois, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia, South Dakota and Wisconsin. At least 10 people have been hospitalized.

Symptoms of E. coli can include stomach cramps and diarrhea. People typically are ill for two to five days but can develop complications including kidney failure.