Calif. company recalls 864,000 pounds of beef

MONTEBELLO, Calif. — A Southern California meat-packing firm has recalled some 864,000 pounds of ground-beef that might be contaminated with E. coli.

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The Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said Monday that no illnesses have been reported from the products sold by Montebello-based Huntington Meat Packing Inc. under the Huntington, Imperial Meat Co. and El Rancho brands.

The affected beef was sold to distribution centers, restaurants and hotels in California between Feb. 19 and May 15, 2008, and between Jan 5. and Jan. 15, 2010.

Huntington did not return a phone message.

Officials say department personnel discovered the problem during a food safety assessment.