Health officials are warning consumers against eating certain beef products sold at Aldi stores. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) on Aug. 4 issued a public health alert for a raw beef product sold at Aldi stores nationwide that may be contaminated with soft, clear plastic, making it unsafe for consumption.
According to the USDA news release, the alert pertains to 1.5-lb. plastic tray packages containing “USDA CHOICE BLACK ANGUS BEEF FROM ALDI, BEEF FOR CARNE PICADA.” These products were produced on July 25, 2023 and have a “Use or Freeze by” date of Aug. 22, 2023, Julian Date 206, and time stamp between 08:43 through 09:23. The product bears the establishment number Est. 85M on the back label and was available in select ALDI grocery stores nationwide.
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The raw beef item may contain soft, clear plastic, according to FSIS, an issue that was discovered after the establishment received a complaint from a retail store that soft, clear plastic was noticed in the product. The FSIS was then notified. Since the product is no longer available for purchase, a health alert was issued rather than a recall. The FSIS said there remains concern that the product may be in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers and advised consumers who purchased the raw beef product not to eat it. The product should instead be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase. There have been no confirmed reports of injury or illness due to consumption of this product.
The health alert marks just the latest food safety concern to arise for a beef product. Last month, Suya Slice, LLC recalled approximately 445 pounds of ready-to-eat beef products after they were produced without the benefit of a federal inspection before they were sold. The ready-to-eat jerky and marinated skewered beef products did not have the USDA mark of inspection and were found to have not originated from an establishment inspected by FSIS.
Prior to that recall, more than 2,000 pounds of raw ground beef burger products sold under the Pre brand name were recalled. The recall was issued by Weinstein Wholesale Meats, Inc. after it received several consumer complaints that the products may be contaminated “with extraneous materials, specifically pieces of white neoprene,” which is a type of rubber. No illnesses were reported in connection to the recall.
