H-E-B Recalls Stew Meat Contaminated With Plastic, Metal: Feds

HOUSTON, TX — It's cold outside, which means the perfect weather for comfort food in places like Texas. Food like homemade stew. But for you H-E-B shoppers, beware of any stew meat purchased at the giant grocery retailer on and before Christmas Eve. That meat might contain plastic or metal.

The company that sold the product, Swift Beef Co., has recalled approximately 4,700 pounds of beef stew that may be contaminated with plastic and metal and sold at H-E-B earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced this week.

FSIS announced this week the following products are subject to recall:

• Cases containing six 5-pound bulk cryovac plastic bags containing fresh beef stew meat intended for HEB grocery store retailer re-package. The affected case code is 69404.
• Re-packaged various weight beef stew meat trays that also contain separately wrapped vegetables. The meat trays are marked with establishment 7231 on the side of the tray.
• Re-packaged various weight beef stew labeled as HEB brand: Beef Stew Meat Tenderized RP, Beef Stew Meat RP, Beef Stew Meat VP, Beef Stew Meat-CR VP, Beef Stew Meat Tenderized VP, Beef Stew Meat CP, and Beef Stew Kit.

The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 3D” next to the USDA mark of inspection or Est. 7231 on the side of the tray. These items were shipped to HEB retail stores in Texas.

HEB employees first discovered the problem on Christmas Eve while opening boxes containing the multi-vac packages, officials said. Also that day, HEB locked the sales of all stew meat from their registers and pulled all products from shelves in all the stores.

There are no confirmed reports of health problems or complications from the consumption of these products, federal officials said.

Recall questions can be directed to Cameron Bruett, Head of Corporate Affairs for Swift Beef Co., at 970-506-7801. Those with food safety questions can "Ask Karen," the Food Safety and Inspection Service virtual representative who is available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov or via smartphone at m.askkaren.gov.

A toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in both English and Spanish can be reached from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day.

AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki