The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture ordered on Tuesday the recall of approximately 167,639 pounds of raw meat—equivalent to about 76 tons—of pork, beef, and goat products produced by Star Meat Delivery Inc., a company based in Lucama, North Carolina.
The measure was classified as Class I, the highest risk category of the FSIS, reserved for situations where there is a reasonable likelihood that consuming a product could lead to serious health consequences or even death.
The reason for the withdrawal is twofold: the products were made without the mandatory federal inspection required by the Federal Meat Inspection Act, and they also bore a counterfeit USDA inspection mark with the establishment number "EST. 1363," an identification that does not have any actual federal authorization.
"The food produced without inspection may contain undeclared allergens, harmful bacteria, or other contaminants that threaten the health and safety of consumers," the FSIS warned in its official notice.
The affected items were dispatched in cardboard boxes with individually vacuum-sealed packages under the A&D Foods brand, and sent to a distributor of the same name located in Duluth, Georgia, from where they reached retail stores and restaurants across the country.
The official list includes 23 commercial descriptions, comprising goat cuts in chunks, sliced beef ribeye, barbecue-style beef shoulder, beef tail, short ribs, bone-in chuck, beef shanks, and broth ribs.
Pork products include ground meat, chorizo, bone-in chops, legs cut into six or eight pieces, rib chunks, shoulder in various cuts, sliced knuckle, and mix for menudo.
The variety of cuts —which includes common preparations in Latin American and Asian cuisines such as menudo, broth, and meat for Korean barbecue— suggests that the company and its distributor primarily supplied immigrant communities and ethnic restaurants in various parts of the United States.
The FSIS warned that identifying the products may be difficult for the final consumer, as supermarkets and butcher shops that received them may have placed their own price tags and handling instructions on the original boxes.
The key reference for identifying affected merchandise is the presence of the code "EST. 1363" on the inspection label: any product bearing that identification must be considered misbranded and unfit for consumption, according to the agency.
The irregularity was detected during routine surveillance activities by the FSIS. As of the time of the announcement, no illnesses or injuries related to the consumption of these products had been reported, although the agency expressed concern that some of the merchandise may be found in the refrigerators or freezers of consumers, restaurants, or stores.
Those who have purchased any of these products should dispose of them or return them to the place of purchase. Restaurants and retailers are prohibited from selling or serving them. For inquiries, the FSIS has established a toll-free line at 888-674-6854 (USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline).
The FSIS stated that it will continue to update the list of products as its investigation progresses and will conduct checks to confirm that the company's customers have been notified and that the merchandise has been removed from the supply chain.
In August 2025, a similar situation affected about 32,000 pounds of meat produced by Sabrositos Hondureños, LLC, in New Jersey, also due to false inspection labels and production without federal supervision. The volume of the recall by Star Meat Delivery Inc. is significantly larger than that of the previous case.
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