More than 80 tons of meat connected with Georgia distributor recalled over fake inspection marks

More than 83 tons of meat connected with a Georgia distributor have been recalled across the U.S. because the products were not properly inspected by federal authorities and were shipped out with falsified inspection stickers, the Department of Agriculture said.

Star Meat Delivery Inc., based in Lucama, North Carolina, is recalling more than 167,000 pounds of raw pork, beef, and goat products nationwide. That number may grow as the USDA continues its investigation into the situation.

According to the officials, the meat in question was produced before Sept. 22, and could have false USDA inspection stickers with the establishment number "EST. 1363." Some individual packages people purchased may not bear that labeling because retail stores may have applied their own stickers with pricing and safe handling instructions, the agency warned.

After being vacuum-sealed and packed into cardboard boxes, the products were shipped to Georgia distributor A&D Foods to send to retail and restaurant locations nationwide.

The agency said the problem was discovered during the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service's routine checks. It's not clear whether anyone has been arrested or criminally charged.

While there have been no confirmed reports of illness or injury due to the products, the USDA said the products should be considered unsafe to eat and be discarded or returned to the place of purchase.

Star Meat Delivery, in a statement posted on its Facebook page Thursday, pushed back at the notion that the inspection stamps on its products were somehow falsified. It said the establishment number in question was "legitimately reserved" as part of the USDA application process while it seeks approval to process and package meat for the Georgia distributor.

That approval process is still underway, Star Meat said, although the meat involved was sourced from a USDA-inspected supplier.

"No other products sold by Star Meat Delivery were mislabeled, and no other products sold by Star Meat Delivery are part of the recall that has been issued," the company said. "We are cooperating fully with the appropriate authorities to finalize the application and are following the recall procedures that have been put into place."

The USDA didn't immediately respond to Star Meat's statement.

You can learn more about the recall and see a list of currently available labels for the products involved on the USDA's website.