A Texas company is recalling more than 17 tons of ground beef it sold to the USDA for use by the National School Lunch Program because of complaints about pieces of hard white plastic pieces in the meat.
The fully-cooked ground beef products from Goodman Food Products of Mansfield, TX, which does business as Don Lee Farms, were distributed to institutions in Maine and Connecticut, according to the recall notice posted by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
“FSIS is concerned that some product may be in school freezers or refrigerators. School nutrition professionals who have purchased these products are urged not to prepare or consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” the recall notice states.
All of the Don Lee Farms beef patties and beef crumbles subject to the recall have the establishment number “EST. 5886A” printed in the USDA mark on the product labels.
The recalled meat products were produced on Aug. 2, 2017. They all have best-if-used-by dates of Aug. 2 this year.
Schools’ staffs can identify the recalled products by looking for the following label information:
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To view larger versions of the labels used on the cases of recalled Don Lee Farms brand ground beef, please click on the image. 40-pound cases of “Don Lee Farms FULLY COOKED BEEF PATTY CRUMBLES” with lot code 5886A7214, case code CNG36100 and “Best if used within” date of August 2, 2018; and
- 40-pound cases of “Don Lee Farms FULLY COOKED HOMESTYLE BEEF PATTY” with lot code 5886A7214, case code CNG38220 and “Best if used within” date of August 2, 2018.
“The problem was discovered after the company and USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Services received consumer complaints about hard, white plastic material found in the fully cooked ground beef products,” according to the recall notice.
Officials had not received any confirmed reports of injuries or other adverse reactions from the recalled ground beef as of the posting of the recall on June 4.
Consumers and school officials who have questions about the recall can contact Donald Goodman, president of Goldman Food Products Texas Inc. at 310-674-3180.
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