On Thursday the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that Valley Meats LLC of Coal Valley, Illinois began a recall of nearly 96,000 pounds of ground beef products after three people became sick from E. Coli in the Cleveland, Ohio area. The USDA said that illnesses related to the recalled meat have also been reported in Pennsylvania and Illinois.

Last week the Ohio Department of Health alerted federal officials that three individuals - a 3-year-old girl, a 24-year-old man, and a 71-year-old man - with no connection to each other were ill from E. coli bacteria featuring the same genetic footprint. A spokesman says that two of the three were hospitalized and all are now recovered.

Officials from the Cleveland Health Department are also now investigating the death of a 7-year-old girl - a student at Westpark Community School on Lorain Road - who died as a result of E.coli. They are trying to determine if there is a link between the recalled beef and her death.

Most of the recalled meat is preformed patties under various brand names. For more information on the recalled products, please visit this USDA webpage.

While farmers and backyard gardeners are beginning to plant and care for their tomato seedlings, scientists at H.J. Heinz Co. are busy trying to breed a sweeter tomato in hopes that it will help them save on the pricey corn syrup currently used in ketchup. The price of corn has been soaring, partially due to the boom in ethanol use, and has increased Heinz bottom line.

Ketchup can be found in 97% of American homes, and in half of those Heinz is the ketchup of choice. In the restaurant business, Heinz is just as dominant. At any given moment, the Heinz factory is busy pumping out millions of tiny ketchup packets. Heinz's success, says VP David Ciesinski, is a result of "the perfect recipe."

That perfect recipe includes, of course, tomatoes. But it also includes other ingredeitns such as spices, distilled vinegar, and high fructose corn syrup. The corn syrup is one ingredient that in recent years has begun to give the company headaches.

A bushel of corn that cost $2 four years ago now costs about $6. Corn is an important ingredient in many of the foods we eat, which are also on the rise in price.

The massive blizzard in Cleveland has shut down countless flights in and out of Cleveland tonight. Continental Airlines, the major carrier out of Hopkins Airport, has released this statement for people affected by the delays:

With severe winter weather forecast for Ohio through Saturday, Continental Airlines announced travel options for customers whose flight plans may be affected by the storm.

Weather conditions are expected to make air travel difficult in the area. This forecast will force some delays and cancellations of flights at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

To avoid inconvenience, travelers scheduled on flights through Saturday may wish to delay commencement of their trip.

Customers ticketed for travel through March 8 to or from Cleveland are permitted a one-time date or time change to their flights without penalty. Rescheduled travel must originate by March 15. If a flight has been canceled, a refund in the original form of payment can be requested.

The fastest and most convenient way to change travel plans is via continental.com. Customers should enter their confirmation number and last name in "Manage Reservations." Customers may also call Continental Airlines reservations at 800-525-0280 or their travel agent.

continental.com provides an overview of Continental operations as well as up-to-date information regarding the status of specific flights. Automated flight status information is also available at 800-784-4444.