There is growing concern about E. coli now that a four-year-old girl has been hospitalized after consuming beef on the Labour Day weekend.
Sarah Demoskoff has been in Alberta Children's Hospital seince September 11.
The little girl's family says doctors told them the case was linked to a nation-wide beef recall announced on Monday.
Sarah ate prepackaged beef patties and became very sick soon after.
The family says Sarah suffered kidney failure, is on dialysis and will undergo a second blood transfusion sometime on Thursday.
The AHS says they are investigating a case of E. coli, but have not provided any details.
The news comes after a massive beef recall was expanded yet again.
The initial recall was issued on Monday after Edmonton-based XL Foods discovered potential E. coli contamination.
The company then issued a voluntary recall of the ground beef distributed from the facility.
At first, the recall was limited to Kirkland Signature, Safeway, and Calahoo Meats brands distributed in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, B.C., and Alberta.
That recall has now been expanded to include various beef products from retailers including Sobeys, Foodland, Metro, No Frills, IGA, Presto, Club Entrepot, and Co-op locations.
The affected area has also been changed to include the rest of the country.
Alberta retailers most recently added to the recall have been Sobeys/IGA, Co-op, Giant Tiger, Northern, as well as ‘Reddi Food Solutions” in Leduc.
Reddi Food is a meat re-packaging plant and has sold to Co-op.
As a result, every major grocery chain in the Calgary area could be at risk of selling contaminated meat.
Food contaminated with E. coli may not look spoiled, but can cause serious and possibly life-threatening illness. The CFIA said anyone who believes they may have purchased a contaminated product should check with their retailer or discard the product if they are unsure.
There have been no other suspected illnesses because of the recall.
With files from CTVNews.ca and the Canadian Press
