Nine million pounds of meat recalled -- diseased animals processed

Rick Sorrels

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food Safety Service announced a recall on Saturday, Feb. 9, concerning nearly nine million pounds of meat processed between Jan. 1, 2013 and Jan. 7, 2014 that was not inspected and came from diseased animals. USDA says that “the meat is not fit for human consumption and must be removed from commerce.”

The recalled meat is all various cuts of either beef (full-grown steer, bull, ox or cow), or veal (calf).

The meat was processed at The Rancho Feeding Corporation located in Petaluma, California, and then shipped to distribution centers in California, Florida, Illinois, and Texas. There was no mention in the USDA release mentioning where those distribution centers may have further distributed the recalled meat.

The products subject to the recall were shipped in 20 to 60-pound boxes which bear the establishment number “EST 527” inside the USDA mark of inspection. Each box bears the case code number ending in “3” or “4”.

USDA says that “there have been no reports of illness due to consumption of these products,” and that “anybody concerned about an illness should contact a health care provider.”