Rancho Veal recalls more than 40,000 lbs of meat

Rancho Veal Corporation, which operates the Bay Area's last slaughterhouse in Petaluma, is recalling 41,683 pounds of meat that didn't receive a full federal inspection, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday.

The meat, including carcasses and boxes of beef tongue, hearts and other items, was produced Wednesday and shipped to distribution centers and retailers in California, according to a press release.

"The problem was discovered as a result of an ongoing investigation," the USDA reported. The agency "believes the company produced product without full ante-mortem inspection as per federal regulations."

The USDA reported it has received no reports of illness connected to the meat in question.

San Francisco's television station KPIX 5 previously reported that USDA agents and Petaluma police showed up Friday at the Rancho Veal plant on Petaluma Boulevard North. The USDA declined until Monday to explain the purpose of its visit.

Rancho's owners, Jesse "Babe" Amaral and Robert Singleton, did not respond to requests for comment left Sunday and Monday at their homes, as well as at the business's office Monday.

Workers were present at the plant Monday, and some cattle stood in holding pens.

The recalled meat carcasses and boxes bearing the establishment number "EST. 527" inside the USDA mark of inspection. Each box bears the case code number "ON9O4."

The boxes of recalled meat include:

50-lb. boxes of "Beef Feet"

20-lb. boxes of "Beef Oxtail"

50-lb. boxes of "Beef Hearts"

60 and 30-lb. boxes of "Beef Liver"

30-lb. boxes of "Beef Cheeks"

60-lb. boxes of "Beef Tripe"

30-lb. boxes of "Beef Tongue"

Check back later for more details on this story.

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