Tainted beef that was recalled earlier this year has been expanded from the previously thought six states, to include nearly 35 states, and many major grocery store outlets.
The first recall consisted of beef from Rancho Feeding Corp., based in Petaluma, California, and entailed 8.7 million pounds of beef that should never have left the processing plant.
According to the USDA, Rancho Feeding “processed diseased and unsound animals and carried out these activities without the benefit or full benefit of federal inspection.”
“Thus, the products are adulterated, because they are unsound, unwholesome or otherwise are unfit for human food and must be removed from commerce,” the FSIS reported. The Petaluma company made the recall.
Now, thousands of retailers have been added to a list of companies that could have received beef products from the producer in California since the February recall, the USDA said.
“The retail list has been growing as more customers have been notified,” USDA spokesman Adam Tarr told CNN Friday. “The list could expand.”
The USDA will continue to update the list so that the affected products can be removed from commerce, he said.
The USDA has not received any reports of illness because of the recalled meat, they said in a statement issued in February. But it is a “Class I recall,” meaning it is 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 were produced and shipped between January 1, 2013, and January 7, 2014. The USDA mark of inspection on them has “EST. 527” and their case code number ends in 3 or 4.
There is a range of products that were recalled in addition to the millions of pounds of beef shipped in January. They include 30-pound boxes of beef tips, mountain oysters and sweetbreads, as well as 40-pound boxes of veal bones and 60-pound boxes of veal trim.
For a complete list see: Detailed List of Recalled Products.
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