Six children ill in E.Coli outbreak

Supermarket chain Lidl has issued a product recall after six children in France were hospitalised with food poisoning from minced beef.

The children, who are aged between two and eight, are said to be in a stable condition. They are all believed to have eaten hamburgers sold by Lidl under the "Steaks Country" brand.

The frozen steaks come in 1kg boxes of 10 and the affected batch carries a production date between May 10 and 12.

The Nord-Pas de Calais branch of French health watchdog l'Agence Régionale de la Sante said it appeared to be an E.Coli infection and that the cases were not believed to have any link to the recent outbreak in Germany.

All of the cases reported so far are in Lille, but the batch has been recalled on a wider scale as a precaution.

Customers who have bought the product, which has a May 2012 use-by date, should return it to the shop for a refund.

Notices will be put up in Lidl stores. The manufacturer, a company based in the Haute-Marne, has set up a free information line for customers on 0800 802 511.

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