National Steak and Poultry has recalled 248,000 pounds of beef. The beef is said to be contaminated with a strain of E. coli bacteria. A possibility of the meat being linked to illnesses in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota and Washington was pointed at.

The recall was announced on Thursday by the Owasso-based company and the U. S. Agriculture Department.

The problem was found by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service while investigating several illnesses. An association was established between non-intact steaks that have been made tender using blades prior before further processing.

Tanya Ward, National Steak and Poultry's senior manager of quality assurance said, "Our company's paramount concern is for the safety and health of consumers.”

The products under this Class I recall are labeled with the establishment number EST. 6010T inside the USDA mark of inspection and packaging dates of 10/12/2009, 10/13/2009, 10/14/2009, or 10/21/2009. These products were shipped to restaurants nationwide.