150,000+ Pounds of Boston Market Meals Recalled After Customers Find Plastic and Glass

More than 150,000 pounds of Boston Market frozen meals were recalled Saturday after customers complained about finding bits of glass and hard plastic in their frozen, not-ready-to-eat boneless pork rib patties, Newsweek reported.

This is a Class 1 recall, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), meaning it “is a health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.”

The meals were distributed by Bellisio Foods in Jackson, Ohio, which recalled 173,376 pounds of the impacted meal from retailers around the country and from a Tucson, Arizona Department of Defense (DOD) facility, Food Safety News reported.

#Recall: Bellisio Foods Recalls Boneless Pork Rib Frozen Entrée Products Due to Possible Foreign Matter Contamina… https://t.co/HXdoeG2VOL

— USDA Food Safety & Inspection Service (@USDAFoodSafety) February 23, 2019

“[USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)] was notified on Feb. 22, 2019,” the FSIS recall notice read, according to Food Safety News. “There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions or injuries due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider.”

Bellisio Foods told FSIS that the meals were produced between Dec 7, 2018 and Feb. 15. Here are some details of the recalled items for customers to look out for:

1. The dinners have best-by dates ranging from December 2019 to February 2020.
2. They are in 14 ounce cardboard boxes with the official title “BOSTON MARKET Home Style Meals BONELESS PORK RIB SHAPED PATTY WITH BBQ SAUCE & MASHED POTATOES.”
3. All the dinners are printed with USDA establishment code “EST. 18297”

“FSIS is concerned that some product may be frozen and in consumers’ freezers. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” FSIS advised, according to Food Safety News.

Customers should specifically check their freezers for the following sell-by dates and lot codes, Food Safety News said:

“BEST BY” date of 12/07/2019 with the lot code 8341;
“BEST BY” date of 01/04/2020 with the lot code 9004;
“BEST BY” date of 01/24/2020 with the lot code 9024; or
“BEST BY” date of 02/15/2020 with the lot code 9046.

FSIS does not yet have a list of all the stores to which the recalled products were shipped. It also does not know if the DOD facility shipped them on to other locations.

Consumer affairs supervisor for Bellisio Foods Krista Cummings is fielding any questions at 855-871-9977.

Last year, there were 28 food recalls in the U.S. due to foreign matter contamination, almost half of which were due to plastic, Food Safety Magazine found.

Why doesn't @realDonaldTrump and @GOP care about our food safety?: Lettuce Recall Is a Wake Up Call for Food Safety https://t.co/bR4fntqhOM

— Dana Ivey (@hekasia) December 1, 2018