WASHINGTON – Rancho Feeding Corporation, a Petaluma, Calif. establishment, is recalling approximately 8.7 million pounds of various processed beef products, because they processed “diseased and unsound animals and carried out these activities without the benefit or full benefit of federal inspection,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced recently.
Thus, the products are adulterated, because they are “unsound, unwholesome or otherwise are unfit for human food and must be removed from commerce,” the USDA reported. The carcasses that are the subject of the recall were shipped to other establishments where they were further processed into smaller cuts or processed products, like frozen entrée products such as Hot Pockets.
The recall does not include ground beef, but does include beef cheeks, lips, liver, tripe, tongue, veal cuts, and bones and trim, according to the USDA.
According to the USDA, the recall includes just about every state in the union, including Kansas, to one degree or another. Most of the products were shipped to grocery, convenience and discount stores, including national chains such as Family Dollar, Food 4 Less and Walmart (Kansas stores for these companies were not involved).
Area businesses that received products with contaminated meat included in the recall are:
• Barton Community College Bookstore, Great Bend
• C-V Convenience Store in Holyrood
• Country Store in Macksville
• Butterfield’s and Mini Super Mart, both in Ness City
• Russell Amoco and Klema Market, both in Russell
• Short Stop in St. John
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.” The products were produced Jan. 1, 2013, through Jan. 7, 2014, and shipped to distribution centers and retail establishments nationwide.
FSIS has received no reports of illness due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an illness should contact a health care provider.
The USDA considers this a “Class I” recall, meaning, this 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.
FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify that recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that recalled product is no longer available to consumers. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on the FSIS website at: at www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls.
Consumers and members of the media who have questions about the recall can contact the plant’s Quality Control manager, Scott Parks, at 707-762-6651.
Consumers with food safety questions can “Ask Karen,” the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov. The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day. The online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at fsis.usda.gov/reportproblem.