The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is urging consumers not to eat certain pork, beef, and goat meat products after it found that nearly 168,000 pounds were labeled with false inspection marks.
This false labeling means that the meat’s safety cannot be guaranteed, and in the worst-case scenario, consuming it could cause serious adverse health consequences, including death.
Here’s what you need to know.
What’s happened?
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a notice alerting the public that approximately 167,639 pounds of raw pork, beef, and goat products bearing false establishment numbers were distributed nationwide.
These false USDA marks of inspection mean that the meat included in the recall did not undergo legally required safety inspections, the notice states.
Because of that, the meat’s safety cannot be guaranteed, so it is treated as unsafe to consume.
The FSIS has thus given the recall a Class 1 designation, which the agency says means “there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.”
The meat is being recalled by Star Meat Delivery Inc., which shipped the items to the Georgia-based distributor A&D Foods, the notice states. Those meats were then distributed to restaurants and retailers nationwide.
Though the FSIS mentions the meat products “bear false marks of inspection with establishment number ‘EST. 1363,’ which does not have a federal grant of inspection,” the agency does not say who exactly applied the false marks to the meat’s packaging.
The false marks were discovered through its “surveillance activities,” the FSIS says.
Fast Company has reached out to Star Meat Delivery and A&D Foods for comment.
Where were the recalled products sold?
The FSIS notice does not state which retailers and restaurants the recalled meats ultimately ended up at.
The agency’s notice merely says, “These items were shipped to A&D Foods, a distributor in Georgia, for further distribution to retail and restaurant locations nationwide.”
What products are being recalled?
According to the recall notice, the raw pork, beef, and goat items were all produced on various dates before September 22. The recalled items have the false establishment number “EST. 1363” on their labels.
However, the agency notes that “individual consumer packages may not bear this labeling, as retail stores may have applied their own stickers with pricing and safe handling instructions.”
Images of the labels can be found here.
The FSIS says that the following “Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed” items are included in the recall:
- A&D Foods “GOAT CUT 1-1/2″ 10.00 LBS”
- A&D Foods “GOAT BURN SKIN ON CUT 1-1/2″ 10.00 LBS”
- A&D Foods “SLICE RIBEYE 4oz 10.00 LBS”
- A&D Foods “BEEF CHUCK THIN SLICED KBQ 4 MM 20.00 LBS”
- A&D Foods “BEEF OXTAIL CUT 10.00LBS”
- A&D Foods “BEEF SHORT RIBS SLD 3/8″ REGULAR 10.00 LBS”
- A&D Foods “SHANKS BONE IN CUT 1.5 10.00 LBS”
- A&D Foods “PORK GROUND 10.00LBS”
- A&D Foods “PORK CHORIZO 10.00 LBS”
- A&D Foods “PORK CHOP B/I 10.00 LBS”
- A&D Foods “PORK FEET CUT 8 PCS 10.00 LBS”
- A&D Foods “PORK FEET CUT 6 PCS 10.00 LBS”
- A&D Foods “PORK RIB PIECES PREM 1″ 10.00 LBS”
- A&D Foods “PORK BOSTON DICED 10.00 LBS”
- A&D Foods “PORK BOSTON SLICE 1 INCH 20.00 LBS”
- A&D Foods “Menudo Mix 30.00 LBS”
- A&D Foods “PORK BOSTON THIN SLICED 3.5MM 20.00 LBS”
- A&D Foods “PORK HOCK SLICED 10.00 LBS”
- A&D Foods Beef Ribs 4Bone 2″ C. Cut P/Caldo
- A&D Foods Beef Short Rib Thin Sliced
- A&D Foods Pork Boston Butt Sliced 4MM
- A&D Foods Beef Short Ribs SLD 3/8″ Premium C. Cut
- A&D Foods Beef Feet Cut
The list of recalled meats could expand to include more items “as more information becomes available,” the agency warns.
What should consumers do if they have these products?
Because the recalled items were not inspected before distribution, their safety cannot be guaranteed.
The FSIS says this means the meats could “contain undeclared allergens, harmful bacteria, or other contaminants that put consumer health and safety at risk.”
The agency says it is concerned that consumers, retailers, and restaurants may have the recalled meats in their freezers or refrigerators. Restaurants and retailers are being urged not to serve or sell the recalled products, and consumers not to eat them.
If you have any of the recalled meats, the FSIS says you should throw the items away or return them to their place of purchase.
Full details of the meat recall can be found here.