PLAINWELL, Mich.— Meijer has recalled tens of thousands of pounds of ground beef over concerns the meat could be contaminated with pieces of plastic.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Monday that 43,292 pounds of beef produced at a JBS plant in Michigan is being recalled after two complaints that the meat was contaminated with hard, green plastic.
The following products, which were produced on March 20, 2019, are subject to recall: This recall includes ground beef products produced and pre-packaged by JBS Plainwell under the Meijer brand label with a “sell by” date of April 10, 2019:
UPC: 201258, 85{be98f16254b36a744f545e63909ce016dd85feb5d217353bac18b3845f1005b1} lean/15{be98f16254b36a744f545e63909ce016dd85feb5d217353bac18b3845f1005b1} fat, Meijer Ground Beef, net weight: 1 pound
UPC: 202106, 90{be98f16254b36a744f545e63909ce016dd85feb5d217353bac18b3845f1005b1} lean/10{be98f16254b36a744f545e63909ce016dd85feb5d217353bac18b3845f1005b1} fat, Meijer Ground Beef, net weight: 1 pound
UPC: 201155, 80{be98f16254b36a744f545e63909ce016dd85feb5d217353bac18b3845f1005b1} lean/20{be98f16254b36a744f545e63909ce016dd85feb5d217353bac18b3845f1005b1} fat, Meijer Ground Beef, net weight: 1 pound
The ground beef went to stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin. The products have the establishment number “EST. 562M” inside the USDA mark of inspection or printed on the bottom end of the label.
The USDA was first notified of the issue April 5. No injuries or illnesses have been reported.
Meijer said consumers who have purchased this product should throw it away or return the product to the nearest Meijer store for a full refund. Consumers with questions regarding this recall should contact Meijer at 800-543-3704.
If you’ve consumed the meat and are worried about your health, contact a doctor.
The USDA is labeling this a Class II recall, describing the health risk as “low.” Class II also means a list of the stores that sold the product isn’t being released. That typically only happens for Class I recalls, which involve a “high” risk of health problems, most common for things like salmonella and listeria contamination.
JBS is a large company with meat-producing plants across the United States. This isn’t its first problem. Just a few months ago, its plant in Arizona had a massive recall of 12 million pounds of raw beef over possible salmonella contamination that sickened about 250 people.
(PHOTO: U.S. Department of Agriculture)
