JBS Swift Beef Co. has expanded its initial beef recall of 41,280 pounds of products on suspicion of E. coli contamination to include an additional 380,000 pounds of products. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, an investigation by its Food Safety and Inspection Service of 24 illnesses in several states led the Greeley, Colo.-based company to issue the voluntary recalls “from an abundance of caution” and look into its food safety procedures. The USDA said that 18 of the reported illnesses appear to have the same cause.

The first recall involves products that were made April 21 and April 22 and sent to Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin. As yet, no updated list of states the meat was shipped to or which retail outlets or restaurants received it has been released for the additional recalled products, which Seattle-based food safety advocate William Marker called “unconscionable,” in light of the danger E. coli poisoning presents.

Marler noted that the JBS Swift recall is the seventh so far in 2009.