USDA issues highest-level recall for 167,639lb of uninspected meat

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a Class I recall — its most serious category — for about 167,639 pounds of raw pork, beef and goat products from Star Meat Delivery Inc. of Lucama, North Carolina, after finding the meat was produced without federal inspection and packaged with a false USDA mark of inspection.

The recall covers 23 product types, including ground pork, chorizo, pork chops, pork ribs and feet, beef ribs and oxtail, and goat cuts. The items were vacuum-sealed in cardboard boxes and sold in bulk under the “A&D Foods” label to a Georgia-based distributor of the same name, which shipped them to retail shops and restaurants nationwide.

Consumers should not eat any product bearing the false establishment number “EST. 1363”. The number does not correspond to a federally inspected facility, and FSIS considers the products misbranded and unsafe. Shoppers may not see the A&D Foods name, because stores often affix their own price and safe-handling stickers over the original labels.

“Food produced without inspection may contain undeclared allergens, harmful bacteria, or other contaminants that put consumer health and safety at risk,” FSIS warned. The problem was discovered during routine surveillance; no illnesses had been confirmed as of Tuesday, and the agency says further products could be added to the list.

Sources

• Timesng — USDA Recalls 167,639 Pounds of Raw Meat Over Fake Inspection Mark
• WJW via CW7 AZ (Danielle Langenfeld) — Massive meat recall on beef, pork and goat
• The Sun — Beef, pork, and goat urgently recalled with highest warning
• Cobb Courier — 167,639 Pounds of Meat Recalled After Bypassing USDA Inspection
• Allrecipes — USDA Announces Highest-Level Recall of More Than 167,000 Pounds of Meat