US recalls 8.7m pounds of ‘unwholesome’ beef

By Jenni Spinner

- Last updated on GMT

Nearly 9m pounds of beef and veal products out of a California processor are being recalled out of contamination concerns.
Nearly 9m pounds of beef and veal products out of a California processor are being recalled out of contamination concerns.

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A California beef processor is in hot water with the USDA for processing “diseased and unsound” animals without federal inspection.

Rancho Feeding, based in Petaluma, reportedly put into the market 8,742,700 pounds of meat and other products originating from animals labelled “diseased and unsound” by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), without first passing through federal inspection.

All of the products are now under a Class I recall (i.e. a health hazard with a “reasonable probability” that consuming the product could cause serious damage to human health, including death).

Affected products

The recall covers an array of retail, wholesale, and custom beef and veal products, including whole carcasses, beef heads, blood, oxtails, sweetbreads, and testicles. The carcasses and containers bear the EST. 527 establishment number within the USDA inspection mark, with each case code number ending in 3 or 4.

The products were all produced between January 1, 2013, up to January 7 of this year. The Rancho Feeding processing and distribution facilities that handled the suspect meat products are in California, Florida, Illinois, and Texas.

No illnesses reported

FSIS staffers reportedly have not received any reports of illness due to consumption of these products to date. The agency will follow up with the producer to ensure the suspect products have been fully removed from distribution and that customers have been notified of the situation.

Rancho Feeding could not be reached for comment. FoodProductionDaily is in contact with FSIS representatives, who will provide additional information and clarification on the recall activity as soon as it is available.

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