Bits of Metal Found in Pureed Pork Products

Slices of pureed pork similar to those contaminated. Photo courtesy: avlxyz

If this year's storm of salmonella didn't make a plant-based diet ever the more appealing, than maybe metal in your meat will. That's right, Food Safety News reported last week that a Pennsylvania pork manufacturer had to recall 5,550 pounds of pork after metal fragments were found embedded in the meat. You'll never guess how the suspect pork was contaminated.

K. Heeps, an Allentown, Penn meat manufacturer recalled 5,550 pounds of pureed pork after shards of metal were found in the product. The small pieces, according to Food Safety News, were found by two consumers who then reported the problem. The metal pieces seem to have broken off the blending equipment and then ended up getting mixed in with the meat.

Food Safety News reports:

Each box bears "EST. 9379" inside the USDA mark of inspection and a production code of 06/16/11. The pureed pork products were produced on June 16, 2011, and shipped to Calif., Fla., Ill., Ky., Md., Mo., N.J., Ohio, Pa., Texas, Utah, and Va. for institutional use.

Though no injuries have been reported, it's none the less disturbing. Finding metal in your meat is the first problem and the second issue is the eleven states that the suspect meat was shipped to before the discovery was made. It's all the more reason to either cut out meat entirely or decrease your intake and choose high quality, local organic meat when you do eat it.