Fresh ground beef products were pulled from Ralphs stores in Ventura County on Tuesday as part of an expanding voluntary recall triggered by an E. coli scare, a company spokesman said Wednesday.

It was bad timing for the grocery store chain as consumers were gearing up for Independence Day, traditionally one of the most popular grilling holidays.

The meat was purged from store shelves Tuesday evening, and signs noting the problem were posted.

Kroger Co., parent company of Ralphs, implemented the voluntary recall after the U.S. Department of Agriculture linked one of its suppliers, Omaha-based Nebraska Beef Ltd., to several E. coli illnesses in Michigan and Ohio.

Nebraska Beef has recalled nearly 532,000 pounds of ground beef produced from May 16 to June 24.

Ralphs' shelves were restocked Wednesday with fresh beef products from a different supplier that was not affected by the recall, said Charles Barfield, vice president of public relations for Ralphs and Food 4 Less.

Food 4 Less is another Kroger brand, but Nebraska Beef isn't one of its suppliers.

Ralphs is asking customers to check their freezers and refrigerators for any ground beef products that have a sale date from May 21 through July 3. Any ground beef, regardless of type, can be returned to the store for a full refund or replacement, Barfield said.

The voluntary recall is occurring in various degrees in about 20 states across the country, according to Kroger officials.

The Cincinnati-based company initiated a recall June 25 for Kroger stores in Michigan and central and northern Ohio. The expanded recall includes ground beef sold at Fred Meyer, QFC, Ralphs, Smith's, Baker's, King Soopers, City Markets, Hilander, Owen's, Pay Less and Scott's, with overlapping sell-by dates from mid-May through mid-July.

In some stores, the recall includes products in Styrofoam tray packages wrapped in clear cellophane or purchased from an in-store service counter. It does not include ground beef sold in 1-, 3- or 5-pound sealed tubes or frozen ground beef patties sold in the frozen food section of its stores.

Barfield would not comment on how the recall is affecting sales.

Kroger is also recalling Private Selection Natural ground beef sold in 16-ounce packages with sell-by dates from July 11 to July 21 that were in the self-service meat case, according to the company.

According to the Department of Agriculture, no other supermarket chain has been linked to the recalled ground beef.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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