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.

Meatpackers JBS SA and Minerva SA are resuming beef sales to Carrefour SA in Brazil after a spat that halted supplies to stores in the South American nation, according to people familiar with the matter.