Kroger stores, Smith’s Food and Drug Stores, Fry’s Stores and Food 4 Less Stores in Illninois and Indiana are recalling certain ground beef products out of concern they may be contaminated by E. coli O157:H7.

The Kroger recall was undertaken because one of the chain’s beef suppliers is  JBS Swift Beef Co. of Colorado. The JBS Swift  E. coli outbreak was announced last week after federal health investigators made a connection between some of the company’s product and 18 E. coli O157:H7 infections.

Kroger said in a press release that some of its store brand ground beef and store-packaged ground beef was made from meat supplied by JBS Swift. The Kroger recall includes certain hamburger items with sell-by dates ranging from April 27 to June 1, 2009. At Smith’s Food and Drug Stores, the recall covers ball tip steak petite cuts, ground beef, cube steak, beef for fondue, beef fajita meat and beef for stir fry. In the Smith’s stores, the range of affected sell-by dates is May 5 to May 24, 2009.

The recall affects Kroger chain customers in the following areas: Greater Cincinnati, including Dayton; northern Kentucky; southeastern Indiana; Greater Memphis; Arkansas; Mississippi; Illinois and eastern Missouri.

National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys has filed a Kroger lawsuit on behalf of a victim of a 2008 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to Kroger ground beef.