The US Department of Agriculture has announced the largest beef recall in the country's history.

The recall is part of the ongoing fallout from a secret video recording of animal cruelty at a southern Californian slaughterhouse.

Officials said 65 million kg of frozen beef would be recalled from the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co, which supplied meat to the federal school program and some major fast-food chains.

The recall surpasses a 1999 ban of 16 million kg of ready-to-eat meat, the Associated Press reported.

The Humane Society released the video showing workers kicking cows, ramming them with forklift blades, applying electric shocks and using a hose to simulate the feeling of drowning so the animals would revive long enough to pass federal inspection for slaughter.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE OUR FREE NEWS ALERTS? CLICK HERE TO REGISTER