Colorado based Rocky Mountain Natural Meats has issued a recall of ground bison meat and tenderized bison steaks over possible E. coli contamination.

E. coli is a foodborne bacteria that can cause gastrointestinal infection, bloody diarrhea, urinary tract infections, and pneumonia.

The recall includes 66,000 pounds of six different ground meat and steak products produced in May. The meat is marked with "sell or freeze by" dates in June, said the United States Agriculture Department in a release.

Rocky Mountain Natural Meats bison meat has been linked to five cases of E.coli in Colorado and possibly another in New York.

But despite this blip of bad news, the bison meat market in the U.S. has experienced tremendous growth.

The National Bison Association (NBA) says in 2009, 70,000 bison were slaughtered under federal and state inspection in the U.S. The NBA's website lists bison as a healthier alternative to beef, with bison having 2.42 grams of fat per 3.5 ounces, compared to choice cow meat which as 18.54 grams of fat.

In 2007, a census by Department of Agriculture reported nearly 200,000 bison reside on private ranches and farms in the United States.

Why do we even eat buffalo? Didn't we hunt them to the brink of extinction? And aren't American Bison a national treasure, like the Bald Eagles? As a non-meat eater I don't get it. We raise tons of cows - thats not enough for you!

E. coli scares in the U.S. are all too common, an E. coli-Romaine lettuce outbreak in May sickened people in Michigan, New York, Ohio, and Tennessee.