The federal government is pulling millions of pounds of frozen beef from the nation's school lunch programs as part of the biggest-ever meat recall.

The order involves 143 million pounds of frozen beef dating back to Feb. 1, 2006 that originated at the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. in Chino, Calif.

Some of that beef was later processed in North Texas for use by local school districts.

The Fort Worth ISD said it immediately removed all beef from school menus after receiving an alert from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Jan. 31.

"Parents can be assured that we will not use any beef products until the USDA determines that it is safe," said Phyllis Propes, the district's director of child Nutrition services. "Our menus are prepared through March 1st, so it will be at least until then that we will not be using beef."

Fort Worth students are getting meals made with chicken, fish, and pork in lieu of beef. The district has 158,000 pounds of beef in cold storage awaiting clarification of its usability.

A co-op supplies beef products to the Richardson, Allen, Plano, Mesquite and Irving school districts. The meat involved in the recall is also in a holding pattern. "We are waiting for official word in order to destroy that," said Richardson ISD spokesman Tim Clark. "Any beef or beef products that we have already served in our cafeterias, we have received no complaints of illnesses."

Westland/Hallmark is not the only meat supplier to North Texas districts, and the federal recall is not expected to result in any shortages.

The Texas Restaurant Association told WFAA-TV that Westland/Hallmark does not supply meat to any restaurants in this state—it's strictly an institutional food provider.

The recalled beef does not contain dangerous pathogens that can cause salmonella or E. coli poisoning.

"I am confident beef in Texas is safe to eat," said Richard Wortham, a spokesman for the Texas Beef Council in Austin.

WFAA.com editor Walt Zwirko contributed to this report.