When grocery shopping, consumers usually expect to get what they paying for — especially when it comes to buying food for people with dietary allergies.
So imagine if you're planning to heat up a pre-made pot roast for family dinner and, upon opening the packaging, you discover it’s actually a meatloaf. If you like all kinds of meat, this might not be such a big deal.
But, of course, meatloaf has ingredients in it that pot roast does not, which makes this particular scenario a big problem for people trying to avoid certain types of foods.
Such is the case with Publix grocery store locations in Georgia and Florida, which issued a major meat recall after mislabeled meatloaf was sold in a plastic tray labeled “Publix Homestyle Beef Pot Roast with Seasoned Gravy.”
Some consumers who do not like meatloaf but enjoy pot roast may have purchased the package under false pretenses.
But personal food preferences aside, bread crumbs and soybean oil were among the ingredients used in the store brand's meatloaf (which were not in the pot roast) and thus they were not included on the incorrectly labeled packaging.
That can be a dangerous hazard for anyone dealing with gluten or soy allergies.
According to the USDA, recalled packages have a lot code of 72487338, and a case code of 09080/43303, with the USDA establishment number on the label reading 17789B.
The “Use by/freeze by” date on affected packages is Dec. 4, 2017. If you don't have any dietary issues and happen to love meat loaf, too, then the product is perfectly safe. However, if you do not want meat loaf, or have certain food allergies or sensitivities, you can throw out the package or return it to the store for a full refund.
Big grocery chains are not immune to this sort of labeling mistake. Whole Foods had to recall 440 pounds of buffalo chicken salad this summer when it was revealed that the salad actually contained tuna fish, not chicken. And in July, Bush's issued a major recall of its baked beans due to defective cans.