The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has ordered a recall of ground beef products sold across Canada at Costco, Walmart, Safeway and Calahoo Meats stores, because it may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

Most of the products, from XL Food in Alberta, were distributed in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario but the Costco products were sold right across Canada under the Kirkland Signature brand.

But CFIA food recall manager Garfield Balsom says products from other retailers should be checked because smaller stores may have bought items wholesale from larger retailers such as Costco and repackaged them.

"There are maybe situations where somebody has removed the label or there's some secondary distribution of the product and hopefully if the consumer has the product and they are not sure, they can go back to the store,"

"Our advice is to return to their point of sale and inquire whether that product is part of the recall," he said.

"The last advice is, if you're not sure then don't eat it."

The recalled products include ground beef, burger patties, ground chuck, ground sirloin patties, stuffed peppers, meatballs, beef sliders, meatloaf, cheddar cheese patties and ground beef tubes.

The products were packed between Aug. 29 and Sept. 15, and could have "best before" or "freeze by" dates from Sept. 9 to Sept 23.

The CFIA says there have been no reported illnesses but has a complete list of the products on its website.

The meat may have been contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 and might not look or smell spoiled, according to the CFIA. Consumption of beef contaminated with the bacteria can cause serious and potentially life-threatening illnesses.