The U.S. Department of Agriculture published the list of affected stores that were shipped recalled ground beef that has been linked to 17 illnesses and one death on Wednesday, Sept. 26.

More than 132,000 pounds of ground beef product made from the chuck portion of the carcass was recently recalled due to the risk of E. coli contamination. The USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service identified that the raw ground beef was "the probable source of the reported illnesses."

On Wednesday, the U.S. federal agency identified Meijer, Safeway and Target as the major retailers that received the product across the nation.

Affected Aldi locations are in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and California. Affected Sam's Club locations are in North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia. For the complete broken down 12-page list, click here.

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The recalled ground beef was handled by Fort Morgan, Colorado-based Cargill Meat Solutions. Affected products were produced and packaged on June 21, and the investigation of E. coli illnesses started back on Aug. 16.

As for why the recall is being issued now, the USDA says it remains fearful some affected product could be frozen in consumers' freezers.

The federal agency reports in a news release Cargill was identified through an investigation of a previous ground beef, E. coli-related recall launched back on Aug. 30. In all, the USDA says that the joint-investigation revealed 17 illnesses and one death between July 5 and July 25 of this year.

Click here for a full list of affected products and to the top of the page for a USDA provided gallery of affected labels.

E. coli is a potentially fatal bacteria that can cause severe dehydration, bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain and vomiting. Symptoms typically last less than a week, but seniors and children younger than the age of 5 are at risk for suffering kidney failure.

The USDA recommends that all raw ground meat be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees to do away with any potential contamination.