Canada-wide beef recall expands for 6th time

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has again expanded its recall of made-in-Alberta beef, bringing 210 products under a newly widened health alert issued over fears of E. coli contamination.

The federal recall affects meat produced at X-L Foods in Brooks. The agency's latest update is the sixth such recall expansionon the range of ground beef productssince the original notice was issued eight days ago.

Over the weekend, the health alert was broadened to include medium ground beef sold at Alberta Wal-Mart stores.

Lisa Gauthier, with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, said more products could still be added the recall list as the investigation continues.

• Related link:CFIA's List of Recalled Products

"Part of the investigation is gathering a lot of information from a variety of different companies, so working with these companies to obtain all this information can take time," she said. "The investigation is ongoing, and as soon as we have the information, we provide it to the public."

CBC's Scott Fralick said that some consumers are confident that one way to avoid purchasing potentially infected meat is to stick with organic products.

Organic food sellers such as Kevin Johnson, with Planet Organic, said they haven't had to worry about the recall because they know exactly where they're getting their meat.

"We know the farmer that is producing all the beef that we sell at the store," he said. "We can call them up, we can visit that location at any time."

There have been four cases of E. coli poisoning reported in Edmonton so far, and one in Calgary, although a link to the contaminated beef products has not yet been confirmed.