Hot Pockets recalled after meat found ‘unfit for human food’
Nestlé announced Tuesday that it was voluntarily recalling two of the snack products following a widespread meat recall. The move affects its Philly Steak and Cheese Hot Pockets in three sizes and its Croissant Crust Philly Steak and Cheese flavor in the two-pack box. In total, about 238,000 cases of Hot Pockets were recalled. This decision follows an earlier recall of meat from Rancho Feeding that affected some Hot Pockets. These products may have been affected by a recall by Rancho Feeding Corp. last week of 8.7 million pounds of beef product. “Our teams at Nestlé have reviewed our vendor records and have determined that one Nestlé brand has been impacted by the Rancho meat recall. Nestlé is dedicated to food quality and the health and safety of our consumers. For these reasons, we initiated this recall. We sincerely apologize for any concerns created by this voluntary product recall,” Nestlé said, adding that a small quantity of meat was used at a Hot Pocket production facility in California.
In a release Friday, the Department of Agriculture reported that Rancho Feeding was recalling about 8.7 million pounds of meat because it “processed diseased and unsound animals, and carried out these activities without the benefit or full benefit of federal inspection.” The USDA wrote that the products are “unfit for human food.” Its food safety branch noted that it hadn’t received any reports of illness from people who ate the items, however. Consumers who bought the recalled Hot Pockets can return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.