Ground Beef Sold at Whole Foods May Contain Plastic

The ground beef involved is 16-ounce packages of Organic Rancher Organic Ground Beef with a fat content of 93 percent lean and 7 percent fat, or 85 percent lean and 15 percent fat. The beef has a “use by” date of 5/18/22 and a stamp of “EST. 4027” inside the USDA mark of inspection. The meat is no longer on store shelves, according to Whole Foods.

Individuals who purchased the beef should either throw it away or take it to the store with the original receipt for a full refund, a Whole Foods spokesperson told CR.

The health alert comes after the company received multiple consumer complaints about plastic pieces in the meat.

“During production and packaging, pieces of belts and machinery can sometimes break off and get into the food, including ground beef,” says James E. Rogers, PhD, director of food safety and testing at Consumer Reports. “If you bite down on them, you could injure your teeth or mouth.”

The USDA says there have been no confirmed reports of illness or adverse reactions from eating the beef.

If you have a food safety question, the USDA suggests calling its Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-674-6854.