167,000 Pounds of Fake-Labeled Meat Recalled Nationwide

Every legally sold piece of meat in this country carries a small purple stamp — a USDA mark of inspection, proof that someone actually checked the product before it left the plant. This week, federal officials discovered that hundreds of thousands of pounds of meat had been wearing a completely fake version of that stamp.

Star Meat Delivery Inc., based in Lucama, North Carolina, is recalling approximately 167,639 pounds of raw pork, beef, and goat products after USDA inspectors found the meat carried a counterfeit inspection mark reading "EST. 1363." That establishment number doesn't belong to anyone. No federal inspector ever set foot in whatever facility produced this meat.

Why This Recall Ranks Among the Most Serious

The USDA classified this as a Class I recall, its highest risk category, reserved for situations with a reasonable chance of causing serious illness or death. Uninspected meat carries genuine unknowns — undeclared allergens, harmful bacteria, contaminants nobody screened for before the product hit a truck.

The recalled items cover a wide range: sliced ribeye, beef chuck, oxtail, short ribs, ground pork, pork chorizo, chops, ribs, pork feet, Boston butt, and various goat cuts. All of it shipped in bulk to A&D Foods, a distributor in Georgia, before being redistributed nationwide to restaurants and retail stores under the A&D Foods label.

Here's the tricky part for consumers: individual packages you'd actually see on a store shelf might not show the fake USDA mark at all, since many retailers apply their own pricing and handling stickers over the original packaging.

What Washington Shoppers Should Do

No illnesses have been reported so far, but that doesn't mean the risk isn't real — it just means nobody's gotten sick yet, or nobody's connected their symptoms back to this recall. Federal officials discovered the problem during routine surveillance, not because a customer complained, suggesting it slipped through undetected for some time.

If you've recently purchased pork, beef, or goat products from a distributor connected to A&D Foods in the Wenatchee Valley, check the establishment number on the packaging carefully. If it reads "EST. 1363," don't eat it — throw it away or return it to wherever you bought it, and contact a doctor if you've already eaten any and feel unwell.

What Products Have Been Recalled

As of Wednesday, the following products with the A&D Foods label are subject to recall:

• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods “GOAT CUT 1-1/2” 10.00 LBS”
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods “GOAT BURN SKIN ON CUT 1-1/2” 10.00 LBS”
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods “SLICE RIBEYE 4oz 10.00 LBS”
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods “BEEF CHUCK THIN SLICED KBQ 4 MM 20.00 LBS”
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods “BEEF OXTAIL CUT 10.00LBS”
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods “BEEF SHORT RIBS SLD 3/8” REGULAR 10.00 LBS”
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods “SHANKS BONE IN CUT 1.5 10.00 LBS”
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods “PORK GROUND 10.00LBS”
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods “PORK CHORIZO 10.00 LBS”
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods “PORK CHOP B/I 10.00 LBS”
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods “PORK FEET CUT 8 PCS 10.00 LBS”
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods “PORK FEET CUT 6 PCS 10.00 LBS”
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods “PORK RIB PIECES PREM 1” 10.00 LBS”
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods “PORK BOSTON DICED 10.00 LBS”
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods “PORK BOSTON SLICE 1 INCH 20.00 LBS”
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods “Menudo Mix 30.00 LBS”
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods “PORK BOSTON THIN SLICED 3.5MM 20.00 LBS”
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods “PORK HOCK SLICED 10.00 LBS”
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods Beef Ribs 4Bone 2” C. Cut P/Caldo
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods Beef Short Rib Thin Sliced
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods Pork Boston Butt Sliced 4MM
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods Beef Short Ribs SLD 3/8” Premium C. Cut
• Various weight cardboard boxes containing individually vacuum-packed A&D Foods Beef Feet Cut