Investigations have linked a Colorado meat company to around 18 cases of suspected E.coli contamination in the US following which the company has issued recall of the beef supplied by it.

The US Agricultural Department said on Sunday that the beef supplied by JBS-Swift Beef Co may be the cause of at least 18 cases of suspected E.coli O157:H7. The investigations were carried out by the officials of USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service alone with agents from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Sunday’s announcement led JBS-Swift Beef Co issue a recall of assorted beef products totaling 4,21,000 lbs which includes an additional 3,80,000 lbs to the first recall announced on June 24th. The suspect beef was produced on April 21 and then distributed through both national as well as international routes. Though the company has said that the recalled assignment is mostly used for steaks and roasts, it is suspected that some other companies may have processed them into ground beef products. JBS also said that it will be getting in touch with customers to know how the contaminated product was distributed.

JBS-Swift Beef Co is based in Greeley, Colorado and is a division of the South American meat company JBS S.A., based in Brazil.