Sam's Club recalls beef patties nationwide following reported illnesses

Sam's Club warehouse stores across the United States are recalling a brand of ground beef patties made by Cargill Inc., following reports that four children who ate the patties became sick with E. coli.

Consumers who bought the patties after August 26, 2007 are asked to either return them to the store they bought them from or destroy them.

The four children who became ill sometime between September 10 and September 20 were reportedly sickened by frozen American Chef's Selection Angus Beef Patties bought at three different Sam's Club stores in Minnesota.

Heidi Kassenborg, the director of the dairy and food inspection division of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture said, "We can't be certain that meat from other stores is not involved, since the brand ... was likely sold at other Sam's Club locations."

Therefore, Sam's Club has voluntarily issued the recall across stores nationwide.

A statement released by Sam's Club said that the recalled patties have expiration date of February 12, 2008 listed on the packages, and were coded UPC 0002874907056 Item 700141.

Cargill Inc. is expected to release a statement on Monday.