Heads up! A huge ground beef recall was issued this morning! It is for 8.7 million pounds of beef products that came from a plant that has been accused of processing diseased animals without a full federal inspection.
All of this ground beef came from a Northern California based meat processing plant called Petaluma-based Rancho Feeding Corp. The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a statement on Saturday that without the full inspection, the recalled products are unfit for human consumption.
The affected packages of ground beef were processed from January 1st, 2013, through January 7, 2014 and have a “EST. 527” in the USDA mark of inspection with a case code number ending in 3 or 4. These packages were shipped to distribution centers and retail stores in California, Florida, Illinois and Texas. A wide range of products are listed in the recall, including beef carcasses and various parts such as heads, cheeks, lips, livers, feet and tongues that were sold in boxes of 20 pounds and bigger. Forty-pound boxes of veal bones and 60-pound boxes of veal trim are included as well.
There have been no reports of illness tied to this recall yet (thank goodness). If you believe that you have any of the affected beef in your possession, you should be able to take it back to the place of purchase for a full refund.