According to Alan Liddle of Nation’s Restaurant News “at least five restaurant chains are now included in a list of those affected by the late December recall of 124 tons of beef including,” Olive Garden, Applebees, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Carino’s Italian and 54th Street Grill & Bar.

"The Owasso, Oklahoma-based National Steak and Poultry said in a statement to Nation’s Restaurant News that it had contacted all of its customers by December 24."

As I blogged earlier, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported 21 confirmed cases of E. coli illness in 16 states, including nine that required hospitalization with one that developed Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS).

According to the CDC, the onset dates of the E. coli O157:H7 illness cases reported so far have ranged from Oct. 3 to Dec. 14. The states impacted are California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Washington.