Nestle Prepared Foods Co. is recalling 26,400 pounds of pork and beef “Hot Pockets” products that were donated to a charitable organization and distributed to food banks.
The recalled products are misbranded and include undeclared allergens, according to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
“The products contain eggs, milk, soy and wheat, known allergens, which are not declared on the product label,” according to the recall notice.
“These items were donated to a charitable organization, in which the product was further distributed to a food bank in Missouri. The products may have been repackaged and further distributed and sold to additional food banks in Missouri.”
The frozen not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) pork and beef hot pocket items were produced on Sept. 21, 2016, and Jan. 10 and 13 this year. The recalled products include:
- 2,400-pound bulk packages of “Nestle Hot Pockets BBQ Burger Bites.”
- 16,800-pound bulk packages of “Nestle Hot Pockets 3 Cheese Bacon Bites.”
- 7,200-pound bulk packages of “Nestle Hot Pockets Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Snack Bites.”
The recalled products do not have the USDA mark of inspection, and do not identify the known allergen ingredients. The recalled items were distributed to the following food banks in Missouri:
- Gleaner Basket/Monark Southern Baptist Church/ANT Enterprises, Neosho, MO;
- KIDs Across America, Golden, MO;
- River of Faith Church, Seligman, MO;
- Teen Challenge, Neosho, MO;
- United Methodist Church, Noel, MO; and
- We Care for 4 States, Joplin, MO.
FSIS was notified by an Office of Investigations, Enforcement and Audit compliance officer on Oct. 26 about the problem. The officer discovered the violations during routine in-commerce surveillance activities. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.
FSIS and the company are concerned that unused portions of the recalled products may be in consumers’ freezers.
Consumers who have received or purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned.
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