A meat processor recalled about 1 million pounds of ground beef products Friday after seven people were sickened by E. coli contamination.The recalled ground beef was shipped June 11 to distribution centers, where it was repackaged into consumer-size packages and sold under different retail brand names. The USDA did not identify the brands.

The beef was processed between Oct. 2, 2009 to Jan. 12, 2010. The company says most of the products are sold frozen and that they're working to remove them from grocery store shelves. The beef products were distributed to providers in California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and internationally, as well as to a California company for further processing.

  E. coli is a bacteria that can be potentially fatal, especially to young children, senior citizens, and people with illnesses.The government "strongly encourages consumers to check their freezers and immediately discard any product subject to this recall."