California firm withdraws improperly inspected meat products

Rancho Feeding, a meat company based in Petaluma, California, is withdrawing nearly nine million pounds of meat products as they were processed from diseased and unsound animals without a full federal inspection.

According to the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the products are unsound, unwholesome or otherwise are unfit for human food and must be removed from commerce.

Classified as Class I, the recall indicates a health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.

The recalled products include beef carcasses (wholesale and custom sales only), two per box beef (Market) Heads (retail only), 4-gallons per box beef blood (wholesale only), 20lb boxes of beef oxtail, 30lb boxes of beef cheeks, 30lb boxes of beef lips, 30lb boxes of beef omasum, 30lb boxes of beef tripas, 30lb boxes of mountain oysters, 30lb boxes of sweet breads, and 30lb and 60lb boxes of beef liver.

Affected products also include 30lb and 60lb boxes of beef tripe, 30lb and 60lb boxes of beef tongue, 30lb and 60lb boxes of veal cuts, 40lb boxes of veal bones, 50lb boxes of beef feet, 50lb boxes of beef hearts and 60lb boxes of veal trim.

Beef carcasses and boxes bear the establishment number EST. 527 inside the USDA mark of inspection. Each box bears the case code number ending in 3 or 4.

Produced between 1 January 2013 and 7 January 2014, the products were sent to distribution centres and retail establishments in California, Florida, Illinois and Texas.

There are no reports of illness so far associated with the consumption of these products.

Anyone concerned about an illness are advised to contact a health care provider.