Brazilian beef was headed back to the shelves of Carrefour-owned grocery stores Tuesday after a brief boycott sparked by remarks from the French company’s chief executive about nations in the South America trade bloc Mercosur.

Carrefour apologised on Tuesday after its CEO Alexandre Bompard's criticism of South American meat last week angered Brazilian companies and caused suppliers to cut beef deliveries to the food retailer's Brazilian subsidiary.

Carrefour SA has issued a public apology to Brazil to settle a crisis with its government and farmers, after having said the company would not sell South American meat in France.