- Hormel is recalling more than 256,000 pounds of canned beef stew.
- Consumers are being urged to check their pantries.
- Stew produced in February might contain wood.
Hormel Foods is recalling more than 256,000 pounds of canned beef stew over concerns that the stew may contain wood. The announcement was made Thursday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.
The health risk is classified as “high” and it’s a Class I recall.
The canned beef stew was produced Feb. 4, 2024 and a viewable label is online here. The recall affects 20-oz. metal cans containing “Dinty Moore BEEF STEW” with “BEST BY FEB 2028” and lot code “T02045” printed on the can. The lot code may have an additional number at the end. The cans bear the establishment number “EST 199G”.
The product was shipped nationwide.
Varying degrees of risk
The USDA has three classifications of recalls, based on health risk. Class I, which is this, “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.” Class II is the category with a ”remote probability of adverse health consequences from use of the product. In Class III, the product’s use “will not cause adverse health consequences.”
According to the recall notice, the company issued the recall after receiving three consumer complaints about wood in the beef stew. No confirmed injuries have been reported, but consumers who are worried they might be injured are urged to contact a health care provider.
Throw away or return to store
The inspection service said it is concerned that consumers could have some of the product in their pantries. It should not be eaten, they said, but either thrown away or returned to the store where it was purchased.
“FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on the FSIS website at www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls," per the announcement.