Norwegian E.coli focus shifts to sausage

Norwegian officials who asked people to throw away ground beef this winter now believe an outbreak of E.coli bacteria is tied to specialty sausage meats.

Officials from Norway's Food Safety Authority say most of the people who have fallen ill ate sliced sausage called spekepolse, Aftenposten reported Monday.

The sausage meats now under question are distributed throughout Norway.

Authorities believe the source of the E-coli infections, which have left several children with kidney failure, is the Gilde Terina plant in Sogndal. More than 60 percent of the meat produced there is sold in the areas where most people have fallen ill, the newspaper said.

But food safety officials say they have not yet cleared Gilde's plant at Rudshogda, which produces the ground beef initially targeted as the source of the infection. A spokesman said more detailed information is expected this week.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International