The state Department of Agriculture yesterday released a list of 196 schools and school districts that received beef now subject to the nation's largest beef recall.

The list includes at least 17 school districts in Allegheny County: Carlynton, Deer Lakes, Elizabeth Forward, Fox Chapel Area, Gateway, Hampton, Highlands, Keystone Oaks, Mt. Lebanon, North Allegheny, North Hills, Northgate, Penn Hills, Pittsburgh, Plum, Riverview and Upper St. Clair.

Others in the region include Blackhawk, Monaca, Freedom Area and Rochester Area in Beaver County; Butler Area, Seneca Valley and South Butler County in Butler County; Fayette County Vo-Tech and Laurel Highlands in Fayette County; McGuffey and Peters in Washington County; and Burrell and Southmoreland in Westmoreland County.

The agriculture list did not identify schools by county, so the locations of some other schools sharing similar names were unclear.

State Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff advised schools to check their supplies.

"While there is a very low risk to human health in this recall, it is important for all of the affected products to be separated from other foods and destroyed as a precaution," he said.

The recall involves more than 143 million pounds of beef from Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. because of what the federal government called a "remote" health risk. The California slaughterhouse had to recall the beef after it was accused of inhumane practices. According to the state Department of Agriculture, the schools listed are those that the distributors and processors said received some of the recalled beef over the last couple of years. Some schools may no longer have the product.

Pittsburgh Public Schools spokeswoman Ebony Pugh yesterday said the district has about 8,500 pounds -- 323 cases -- of the beef. She said the district mistakenly reported yesterday that it had 12,000 pounds.

She said the beef must be taken to a landfill, incinerated or taken to a rendering plant. She didn't know which method the district would choose. But she said proper disposal must be verified in writing by an official of the county health department and a representative of the landfill or company that takes the beef.

She said the district, which paid about $8,500 for the beef, would seek reimbursement or replacement meat from the federal government. She said the district also would seek reimbursement for disposing of the potentially tainted beef.

North Hills School District notified the public on its Web site, saying that the food services department inspected 96 cases of precooked hamburger patties and found six cases that matched the lot numbers in question.

The North Hills inspection took place after the state Department of Agriculture on Feb. 6 notified the district to put any such cases on hold pending further investigation.

The schools received the beef through the National School Lunch Program, which is administered by the state Department of Agriculture.

Other schools were advised to check their supplies because they may have purchased the beef independently.