Fairbank Farms in the US is voluntarily recalling approximately 319,763 pounds of ground beef products produced on 5-6 November 2002 at its Ashville, New York, facility due to possible contamination with E. coli O157:H7.

According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), no illnesses have been associated with these products.

Fairbank Farms said it took immediate steps to initiate the voluntary recall after being notified by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) that a sample of ground beef produced by the company was found to contain the E. coli strain. The recalled products were shipped by Fairbank Farms to retail distributors in a number of North Eastern US states.

Fairbank Farms said it quickly notified every customer who received the affected products and asked them to remove any remaining product from store shelves or existing inventory and to notify their customers to return any of these products that have not been consumed to the store where they were purchased for a full refund.

"We are taking this voluntary action as a precautionary measure because we are committed to providing consumers with a safe and high quality product," said Rick Fahle, president of Fairbank Farms. "We are working closely with the USDA and our customers to make sure products covered by this recall are removed from store shelves and consumers' homes as soon as possible."

Fairbank Farms operates under the highest food safety standards, including a stringent Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) programme - a science-based production system designed to minimise the possibility of microbial contamination.

Fairbank Farms' ground beef products affected in this voluntary recall include 21 of its different ground beef range of products, which also contain smaller amounts of pork and veal.