A Southern California meat-packing firm recalled 864,000 pounds of ground beef that may be infected with. E Coli., officials revealed on Monday.

E. coli, a potentially deadly bacterium, causes bloody diarrhea, dehydration and, in the most severe cases, kidney failure.

The Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service on Monday claimed that till date, no illness has been reported from the products sold by Montebello-based Huntington Meat Packing under the Huntington, Imperial Meat and El Rancho brands.

Some 390,000 tons of contaminated beef were distributed by the company mainly to distribution centers, restaurants and hotels in Southern California between Feb. 19 and May 15, 2008, and between Jan 5 and Jan 15, 2010.

"While these products are normally used fresh, the establishment is taking this action out of concern that some product may still be frozen and in commerce", government inspectors said.

The situation came to light when department officials initiated a regular safety inspection for food safety assessment.