NEWARK — Topps Meat Co. today said it was closing its business, six days after it was forced to issue the second-largest beef recall in American history and 67 years after it first opened its doors.

The decision will cost 87 people their jobs, Topps said.

On September 25 Topps began recalling frozen hamburger patties that may have been contaminated with the potentially fatal E. coli bacteria strain O157:H7. The recall eventually ballooned to 21.7 million pounds of ground beef.

Thirty people in eight states had E. coli infections matching the strain found in the Topps patties, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. None have died.

“This is tragic for all concerned,” Topps chief operating officer, Anthony D’Urso, said.

The Topps recall raised questions about whether the Agriculture Department should have acted quicker to encourage a recall. Yesterday, top USDA officials said they would speed warnings in the future.

Topps conceded that much of the recalled meat had already been eaten, and today expressed regret that its product had been linked to illnesses. “We hope and pray for the full recovery of those individuals,” Mr. D’Urso said in a statement.

Topps, which halted production September 26, is not the first meat company shuttered by a recall. Hudson Foods Co. closed its plant in Columbus, Neb., after it agreed in 1997 to destroy 25 million pounds of hamburger in the largest American meat recall after E. coli was found in the ground beef. The plant later reopened with new owners.

Topps faces at least two lawsuits filed since the recall, one from the family of an upstate New York girl who became ill, and one seeking class-action status on behalf of all people who bought or ate the hamburgers. The family of an 8-year-old Florida girl, Emily McDonald, who suffered kidney failure sued Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which is among chains that sold Topps patties.

The closing, or any subsequent bankruptcy, does not derail the lawsuits, a lawyer for the family, William D. Marler, said. Emily was hospitalized for two days after eating a hamburger August 17 at a barbecue.

“Bankruptcy will slow the process down, but it does not mean that people will not be compensated,” Mr. Marler said.

The Elizabeth-based company had initially recalled 331,582 pounds of its frozen hamburgers on September 25, acting only after the New York State Department of Health issued an alert linking its patties to illnesses.

Topps on September 29 recalled 21.7 million pounds of its frozen hamburgers — a year’s worth of production — after further evidence from the New York State Department of Health indicated a wider problem.

Mr. D’Urso said that a few employees will remain at the site to help USDA scientists investigate the source of the E. coli outbreak.

The bacteria, which can be fatal to humans, is harbored in the intestines of cattle and can also get on their hides. Improper butchering and processing can cause the E. coli to get onto meat.

Thorough cooking, to at least 160 degrees internal temperature, can destroy the bacteria.