Publix Super Markets on Tuesday issued a voluntary recall for ground beef products produced at a store in Venice, Florida—the chain's second ground beef recall in three weeks at separate locations.
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The recall, announced on the grocery store chain's website, pertains only to a "select batch of Ground Beef products produced at the store in the Jacaranda Commons Shopping Center on June 18, 2024."
It was issued because of the "potential of foreign material in the product." A similar description was used in a May 29 Publix ground beef recall in Alpharetta, Georgia. It has not been confirmed if any foreign material has been found in the products.
The recall applies to 13 affected products produced at the Venice location, including ground chuck, ground sirloin and beef burger, with sell-by dates ranging from June 20 to June 28, depending on the specific product.
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"As part of our commitment to food safety, potentially impacted product has been removed from the store shelves," Maria Brous, Publix director of communications, said in the recall statement. The warning recommends shoppers either throw away the purchased beef or return it to the store for a refund.
Newsweek reached out to Publix's communications team via email on Wednesday for comment.
Food recalls, which are not infrequent, especially with meat, are issued when food products are found to be in violation of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations, or when there are safety concerns. They can be issued for various reasons, such as disease contamination, the presence of foreign objects, or inaccurate allergen listing on the product label.
"For recalls conducted by State-inspected firms or retailers, the appropriate State or local agency leads, manages, and verifies the recall, in most cases. If requested to do so, [USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service] FSIS will provide the State agencies with appropriate assistance and information," Jackson Collier, USDA public affairs specialist, told Newsweek in an email statement.
Late last month, a Publix in Alpharetta issued a recall on ground beef products for potentially containing foreign material. According to a September 2023 article published in peer-reviewed Heliyon: "Over the past 20 years, foreign materials have been responsible for about one out of 10 recalls of foods, with plastic fragments being the most common complaint."
On June 7, Green Life Farms issued a voluntary recall of baby arugula because of potential contamination with salmonella, prompting Publix to post the recall as the product was sold at several of its locations. Salmonella is bacteria that affects the intestines and can led to health impacts like diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps, often within several hours of exposure.
On May 1, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced that Cargill Meat Solutions recalled more than 16,000 pounds of raw ground beef because of potential E. coli contamination, a potentially deadly bacteria that can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps in infected humans, and for some have even more severe health impacts.
Updated 06/20/24, 10:40 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from Jackson Collier.
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Mandy Taheri is a Newsweek reporter based in Brooklyn. She joined Newsweek as a reporter in 2024. You can get ... Read more
