Recalled Beef Sent To NC Kroger Stores, Customers Warned

WASHINGTON, DC – Ground beef processed at a North Carolina facility for Kroger stores has been recalled because consumers found pieces of plastic in the meat, federal safety officials said in a news release. The contaminated shipment was sent to Kroger stores in North Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia, the chain tells Patch.

JBS USA, Inc., a Lenoir, North Carolina, meat processor, on Wednesday recalled about 35,464 pounds of raw ground beef products that may be contaminated with hard plastic.

Kroger media relations employees at the company's headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, would not comment and referred questions to its office in Indiana. Eric Halvorson, manager of corporate affairs at Kroger, then responded to Patch's questions and said none of these products are in the grocery stores today. But, Kroger's Mid-Atlantic division, which operates stores in North Carolina, eastern West Virginia and Virginia, received the potentially-affected products, so customers should check for the beef and throw it out or return it.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said in a news release that the raw ground beef items were produced on March 22. While the meat had a sell-by date of April 9, the USDA says it is concerned that frozen beef included in the recall may be in consumers' freezers. Shoppers who purchased the ground beef in the recall notice are urged not to consume it. The meat should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

The products included in the recall have the establishment number "EST. 34176" inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to distribution centers in Virginia and Indiana for further distribution to retail locations. A spokeswoman for JBS USA would not comment to Patch on whether the beef had been shipped to other states from those two sites, saying all relevant information was in the USDA news release.

JBS received a complaint from a consumer who found blue, hard plastic pieces in one of the beef products, sparking the recall, according to the USDA. There have been no confirmed reports of illness or injury caused by the consumption of the contaminated ground beef.

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The following ground beef is under recall according to the USDA:

• 3-lb. tray packages containing "Kroger GROUND BEEF 73% LEAN - 27% FAT" with product code 95051, UPC: 011110975645, and a Sell By date of 4/9/2018.
• 1-lb. tray packages containing "Kroger GROUND BEEF 80% LEAN - 20% FAT" with product code 95052, UPC: 011110969729, and a Sell By date of 4/9/2018.
• 3-lb. tray packages containing "Kroger GROUND BEEF 80% LEAN – 20% FAT" with product code 95053, UPC of 011110969705, and a Sell By date of 4/9/2018.
• 1-lb. tray packages containing "PRIVATE SELECTION ANGUS BEEF 80% LEAN - 20% FAT GROUND CHUCK" with product code 95054, UPC: 011110971395, and a Sell By date of 4/9/2018.
• 1-lb. tray packages containing "Kroger GROUND BEEF 85% LEAN – 15% FAT" with product code 95055, UPC: 011110969682, and a Sell By date of 4/9/2018.
• 1-lb. tray packages containing "Kroger GROUND SIRLOIN 90% LEAN – 10% FAT GROUND BEEF" and product code 95056, UPC: 011110975638, and a Sell By date of 4/9/2018.
• 1-lb. tray packages containing "ALL NATURAL LAURA'S LEAN BEEF 92% LEAN 8% FAT GROUND BEEF" with product code 95057, UPC: 612669316714, and a Sell By date of 4/9/2018.
• 1-lb. tray packages containing "ALL NATURAL LAURA'S LEAN BEEF 96% LEAN 4% FAT GROUND BEEF" with product code 95058, UPC: 612669317063, and a Sell By date of 4/9/2018.
• 1-lb. tray packages containing "PRIVATE SELECTION ANGUS BEEF 90% LEAN – 10% FAT GROUND SIRLOIN" with product code 95063, UPC: 011110969637 and a Sell By date of 4/9/2018.
• 1-lb. tray packages containing "Kroger GROUND BEEF 93% LEAN – 7% FAT" with product code 95064, UPC: 01111096920, and a Sell By date of 4/9/2018.
• 15-lb. cases containing "JBS Ground Beef Angus Chuck 80% Lean 20% Fat Service Case" with Case UPC: 0040404800632 and a "Sell By: 9.APRIL."
• 15-lb. cases containing "Ground Beef Angus Sirloin 90% Lean 10% Fat Service Case" Case UPC: 0040404800634, and a "Sell By: 9.APRIL."

Here's a link to the labels included in the recall as you check your freezer.

Consumers with questions about the recall can contact Cheri Schneider, director of external communications at JBS, at (970) 506-7717.

If you have a food safety question contact "Ask Karen," the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov or via smartphone at m.askkaren.gov. The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday.

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