Calif. company recalls 8.7 million pounds of meat

PETALUMA, Calif. — A Northern California company is recalling more than 8.7 million pounds of beef products because it processed diseased and unhealthy animals without a full federal inspection, federal officials said.

That’s just over a year’s worth of meat products processed by Rancho Feeding Corp., which has been under scrutiny by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. The agency said that without full inspection, the recalled products are unfit for human consumption.

The products were processed from Jan. 1, 2013, through Jan. 7, 2014, and shipped to distribution centers and retail stores in California, Florida, Illinois and Texas. They include beef carcasses, oxtail, liver, cheeks, tripe, tongue and veal bones.

Last month the company recalled more than 40,000 pounds of meat products produced on Jan. 8 that also didn’t undergo a full inspection.

The problems were discovered as part of an ongoing investigation, the FSIS said.

A call to the company went unanswered.

There have been no reports of illnesses. An FSIS spokesman said because some of the products could still be frozen and in storage, a Class I recall was issued because the meat product could cause serious, adverse health consequences.

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