Federal food safety officials have issued a high-priority recall covering nearly 168,000 pounds of raw meat products after discovering they were produced without mandatory federal inspection and stamped with fraudulent USDA labels.
Star Meat Delivery Inc. based in Lucama, North Carolina is at the center of the recall, which covers raw pork, beef and goat products distributed across the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced the action Tuesday.
The recall has been assigned a Class I designation, the most severe risk level used by federal regulators. That classification indicates a reasonable probability that consuming the product could result in serious health consequences or death.
Investigators found the products carried a counterfeit USDA mark of inspection bearing the establishment number EST. 1363. That number does not legitimately belong to Star Meat Delivery, meaning the safety certification on the packaging was entirely fabricated.
The FSIS uncovered the violation through routine surveillance activities. Because the meat bypassed the federal inspection process, there is no way to confirm it was free of harmful bacteria, undeclared allergens, or other dangerous contaminants.
The affected products were shipped to A&D Foods, a distributor in Duluth, Georgia, which then sent them to retailers and restaurants nationwide. The vacuum-sealed products were packed in cardboard boxes and may have been relabeled with individual store stickers once they reached their final destinations.
The recalled items include more than 20 specific A&D Foods branded products such as goat cuts, beef oxtail, beef short ribs, pork chorizo, pork ground, pork chops, menudo mix and pork feet among others. All were produced before September 22, 2026.
Anyone who purchased these products is urged not to consume them under any circumstances. Retailers and restaurants are instructed to immediately pull the items from shelves and stop serving them to customers.
Consumers should discard the products or return them to the place of purchase. No confirmed illnesses or injuries have been reported in connection with the recalled meat as of Tuesday.
Under the Federal Meat Inspection Act all commercially sold meat intended for human consumption must pass federal inspection. This requirement covers cattle, swine, sheep and goats. Meat that skips this process is considered misbranded and is illegal to sell.
Anyone experiencing health concerns after consuming potentially affected products should contact a healthcare provider. The FSIS said it will continue updating the product list as the investigation develops and additional information becomes available.