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58,000 pounds of ground beef intended for school lunches recalled

Central Valley Meat Company is recalling more than 58,000 pounds of ground beef that was intended to be used in school lunches.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said on Thursday that customer complaints of small plastic pieces in the meat lead to the Hanford, Calif. company's recall.

The products in question were sold in 40-lbs. cases containing 10-lb chubs of "Fine Ground Beef." They have the establishment number "Est. 6063A" inside the USDA Mark of Inspection and case codes of "6063A3091A" or "6063A3091B."

The products were produced on April 1, 2013, and shipped to distribution centers in Arkansas, California, Montana and Texas. They were to be used in the government-subsidized National School Lunch Program.

The government safety agency said it nor the company have received any reports of illnesses or injuries from consuming the ground beef.

If someone suspects that they have become sick from eating the meat in question, the FSIS said to contact a health care professional.

The Fresno Bee reported that the USDA had previously stopped purchasing meat from the company in August after an animal welfare organization released an undercover video of workers kicking and shocking cattle in order to slaughter them more efficiently.

The USDA resumed working with the company after the FSIS found no evidence that its actions lead to sick cattle in the food supply, adding that the Central Valley Meat Company had improved their treatment of animals.

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