Nearly 34,373 pounds of organic ground beef contaminated with E. coli O157: H7 have been recalled by First Class Foods, Inc. of Hawthorne, California. The microbiological sampling has confirmed the presence of the said bacteria in beef products.

The U. S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service has categorized this particular recall as a Class I recall, which means that there is high health risk associated with the consumption of the recalled products. However, no cases of illnesses have surfaced till now.

The Company told that the ground beef was produced on December 7, 2010 and December 16, 2010 and was supplied to retailers in California, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Washington.

The recalled products are - packages of Organic Harvest Organic Ground Beef Brick, packages of Nature's Harvest Ground Patty and packages of Nature's Harvest Organic Ground Beef Brick, all weighing 16-oz. There is the establishment number EST. 18895 and the identifying Pack Date of 10341 and 10350 Julian date on every package.

E. coli O157: H7 is a lethal bacterium, which affects one with bloody diarrhea, dehydration and in extreme cases it could also fail kidney. Those who are more prone to this food-borne sickness include aged people, people with weak immune system and young.

Any query associated with recall can be cleared by calling Lucienne Adams of First Class Foods at 310-676-2500.