Yet another health alert has been issued targeting ground beef products. Amid a string of recent beef recalls, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a public health alert for certain organic ground beef that was sold by Whole Foods stores. The alert was issued after it was determined that the ground beef may contain hard plastic.
The issue was discovered “after the firm received complaints from consumers reporting they found hard, rigid plastic in the ground beef products,” according to the alert. After receiving those reports, the firm notified FSIS of the issue. To date, there have been no confirmed reports of illness or adverse reactions due to consumption of these ground beef products.
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The products affected by the health alert include 16-oz. vacuum-sealed packages containing “ORGANIC RANCHER ORGANIC GROUND BEEF 93% LEAN 7% FAT” and 16-oz. vacuum-sealed packages containing “ORGANIC RANCHER ORGANIC GROUND BEEF 85% LEAN 15% FAT.” Both ground beef products have a use-by date of 5-18-2022 and bear the establishment number “EST. 4027” inside the USDA mark of inspection. Per the notice, the products were shipped to Whole Foods locations nationwide. Labels of the affected products can be found by clicking here.
The FSIS noted that “a recall was not requested because the products are no longer available for purchase.” However, there remains concern that the products could be in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers. Consumers are advised to check any ground beef products they currently have. Those who purchased the ground beef targeted in the latest health alert are urged not to consume them. The products should instead be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.
The FSIS’ public health alert comes just weeks after more than 120,000 pounds of ground beef products were recalled. A recall notice posted by the FSIS in late April notified consumers that Lakeside Refrigerated Services recalled various ground beef products produced from Feb. 1, 2022, through April 8, 2022 and shipped to retail locations nationwide due to potential E. coli contamination. It was found the products were possibly contaminated with E. coli O103, one of the rarer Shiga-toxin producing E. coli that has the potential to cause serious illness. At the time, no confirmed reports of illnesses or other adverse reactions were reported.
