Rochester Meat Co. of Rochester, Minn., decided to take off the market 188,000 pounds of ground beef, due to chances that the meat might be contaminated with E. coli bacteria. According to the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service, the meat products have been voluntarily recalled as soon as the concerns appeared, following five illnesses reported in Wisconsin and one in California.

The producer does not distribute its products to retail stores, so the chances oh having purchased a contaminated product are low. But it does distribute them nationwide to restaurants and food service institutions, which is still a reason for further concerns, as many other people could be contaminated after consuming the ground beef products.

E. coli, or Escherichia coli, is a bacteria commonly found in the intestine of animals, and has the role of preventing the development of pathogenic bacteria. Most of the times is perfectly harmless, but there are certain strains, like serotype O157:H7, that can cause food poisoning in humans, while the virulent strains can lead to more serious affections such as urinary tract infections, gastroenteritis and rarely even septicemia and Gram-negative pneumonia.

The meat producers are often forced to recall their products from the market due to complications that may appear while consuming it. In case of contamination, the doctors will usually prescribe a series of antibiotics, but there are cases when some strains resist to the treatment, mostly because people tend to overuse the antibiotics, which decreases their efficiency.

The particular cases in Wisconsin and California could be due to the O157:H7 strain, which could prove live threatening if left untreated, endangering especially senior citizens and those whose immune system is weak. Both the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services and the California Department of Public Health are conducting further investigations.