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.

Europe's largest food retailer Carrefour said on Tuesday it regretted that a pledge to keep South American meat off its shelves in France was perceived as "putting in doubt its partnership with Brazilian agriculture".

Carrefour SA Chief Executive Officer Alexandre Bompard plans to issue a public apology to the Brazilian government to settle a controversy over its commitment against selling South American meat in France,