Pepperoni Recall Affects Texarkana-Area Stores and Your Fridge

For those of us that like to make our own pizzas, enhance other people's pizza or just grab one and slice a few off for your own enjoyment, pepperoni is a way of life. This one, however, is being pulled from area and national store shelves due to possible contamination.

Smithfield Packaged Meats, DBA Margherita Meats out of Omaha, NB has recalled almost 11,000 pounds of ready-to-eat pepperoni products that may have been contaminated with Bacillus cereus, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The exact item is:

8-oz. plastic shrink-wrapped packages containing unsliced pepperoni “Margherita PEPPERONI” with lot code P1931C and a “use by date” of 12-14-21 represented on the label.

Margherita Pepperoni recall Label- FSIS USDA

How Bad Is It?

B. cereus is a microorganism that causes diarrhea and vomiting. Anyone that might have a compromised immune system could be at risk for even more severe illness. Luckily there have no confirmed reports of illness due to any consumption of these products at this time.

What Do I Do?

If you have this product in your pantry or refrigerator please double check the lot code listed above and make sure your's is not the same number. If it is, please return the product to where you purchased it for a refund or simply throw it away. Please do not consume this product.

Food safety questions? Call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-MPHotline 888-674-6854, or live chat via Ask USDA from 9 AM - 5 PM, Monday through Friday.

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