Yes, there is a recall on some ground beef

Many people in the U.S. buy and cook ground beef regularly. 

Over the last week, people have been searching Google to find out if there is a recall on the popular product.

THE QUESTION

Is there a ground beef recall?

THE SOURCES

• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

• Pre, the distributing brand of the recalled beef

• American Chemistry Council

• Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

THE ANSWER

Yes, there is a ground beef recall. It’s for burger patties sold online and in stores nationwide under the Pre brand. The recalled patties have use/freeze by dates of April 11, 2023.

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WHAT WE FOUND

There is a recall on ground beef, however it’s only for ground beef patties produced on a single date by a single brand.

On March 20, the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (FSIS USDA) announced that Weinstein Wholesale Meats, Inc. is recalling raw ground beef burgers because of contamination from a white, rubber-like material.

The beef patties are branded in 10.7 oz “Pre” vacuum-sealed packaging that contains two "100% Grass Fed & Finished Beef Burger Patties 85% Lean/15% Fat.” The package labeling says “Use/Freeze By 4/11/23” and the USDA mark of inspection on the package has establishment number "Est. 6987."

Pre sells Weinstein’s burger patties through its own online store, on Amazon and in 300 grocery stores on the East Coast, Pacific Coast, Midwest and Gulf Coast. The patties were sold nationwide through the online stores.

If you find the recalled patties in your refrigerator or freezer, the USDA recommends you throw them out or return them to the store where you purchased them.

The patties were recalled after multiple consumers made complaints reporting they had found a white, rubber-like material that has since been identified as white neoprene. 

Neoprene is a synthetic rubber used in rubber gloves, car parts, electrical insulation, scuba fabrics, laptop sleeves and exercise equipment, the American Chemistry Council says. It can also be safely used in food packing and processing, according to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations.

A statement shared with VERIFY by a Weinstein Wholesale Meats spokesperson said the company has completed a review of the facility the contaminated meat came from and believe this to be an “isolated incident.”

The USDA said there have been no confirmed reports of illness or injury caused by the consumption of the recalled patties.

This is not the first time beef products have been recalled in the past year. Since December 2022, the USDA has announced recalls for frozen diced beef because of e-coli, ground beef because of e-coli, frozen ready-to-eat beef because of a wire-like metal contamination and boneless beef chuck because of e-coli.