PITTSBURGH, PA — Millions of pounds of food, some of which are sold at several Pittsburgh grocery stores, are being recalled nationwide because of potentially dangerous glass contamination.
The move was announced Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. It was classified as a Class I recall, which involves a health hazard situation in which the is a reasonable probability that use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or even death.
Ajinomoto Foods North America Inc. of Portland is recalling approximately 33.6 millions pounds of ready-t0-eat and not-ready-to-eat chicken and pork fried rice, ramen and shu mai dumplings. The company previously had recalled 3 million pounds of its products.
This latest recall includes 16 products produced between last October and late February under the Trader Joe’s, Ajinomoto, Kroger, Ling Ling, and Tai Pei names. In the Pittsburgh area, Trader Joe’s can be found in East Liberty, Bethel Park and McCandless.
The problem leading to the recall was discovered when Ajinomoto notified the federal agency that it received multiple consumer complaints involving glass found in product. Ajinomto determined that a vegetable source ingredient, specifically carrots, was the likely source of the glass contamination.
The food and safety inspection service stated on its website that is concerned that some product may be in retailers’ or consumers’ freezers.
Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.