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A North Carolina company is recalling approximately 167,639 pounds of raw pork, beef and goat that were produced without federal inspection but went out nationwide under a false USDA mark, 'EST. 1363', and the recall notice itself warns that the number may not be on the package a shopper took home.

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On September 22, 2026, the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced that Star Meat Delivery Inc. of Lucama, N.C. is recalling approximately 167,639 pounds of raw pork, beef and goat products that were produced without the benefit of federal inspection and carried labels with a false USDA mark of inspection. The establishment number inside that mark, 'EST. 1363', has no federal grant of inspection. The meat was distributed in bulk under the A&D Foods label and shipped to A&D Foods, a Georgia distributor, for retail and restaurant locations nationwide. FSIS rates the recall Class I, the most serious of its three classes, and says product bearing EST. 1363 should be considered misbranded and unsafe to eat, and thrown away or returned. The catch is in the notice: stores may have put their own stickers on the meat, so the number may not appear on a consumer package. The 23 listed products include goat cuts, oxtail, short ribs, pork feet, chorizo and menudo mix, produced on unstated dates before September 22. No illnesses have been confirmed. No retail distribution list had been posted by September 27.

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On September 22 the Food Safety and Inspection Service, the Agriculture Department agency that inspects meat, announced a recall of approximately 167,639 pounds of raw pork, beef and goat. The recalling firm is Star Meat Delivery Inc., of Lucama, N.C.

No contaminant is reported. The problem is the label: the products were "produced without the benefit of federal inspection, bearing labels with a false USDA mark of inspection".

Any product bearing the false establishment number “EST. 1363” should be considered misbranded and unsafe to eat.

What the mark is supposed to mean

FSIS's consumer guidance explains the number: "All containers of USDA-inspected meat, poultry and egg products must be labeled with a USDA mark of inspection and establishment (EST number), which is assigned to the plant where the product was produced." The recall notice says EST. 1363 "does not have a federal grant of inspection".

FSIS rates the recall Class I, which its recall page defines as "a health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death". Its stated concern is general: food produced without inspection "may contain undeclared allergens, harmful bacteria, or other contaminants that put consumer health and safety at risk". There have been "no confirmed reports of illness or injury due to consumption of these products".

The number you are told to find may not be there

The notice tells readers to look for EST. 1363, then warns that they may not find it:

individual consumer packages may not bear this labeling, as retail stores may have applied their own stickers with pricing and safe handling instructions.

Each of the 18 pages in FSIS's label file is an A&D Foods product label with the round USDA inspection legend and EST. 1363 inside it. Where a label has lines for a packing date or lot number, they are blank on the posted images. The notice gives no dates or lot codes of its own, only that the items "were produced on various dates prior to September 22, 2026". The two other recalls FSIS lists this year under the same reason, on August 17 and August 26, each gave a production window.

The notice lists 23 products; the label file covers 18. The last five, beef ribs, two short-rib cuts, sliced pork Boston butt and beef feet, had no label image on September 27. FSIS says it "may update the product list and labels with additional items".

What is on the list

The list runs from goat cuts, ribeye, oxtail and short ribs to ground pork, pork feet, chorizo, pork hock and a menudo mix.

The meat went to A&D Foods, which the notice calls "a distributor in Georgia", for retail and restaurant locations nationwide. Most of the posted labels are marked keep frozen, and FSIS is concerned that some product may be in "the refrigerators or freezers of consumers, restaurants, or retailers".

What to do

  • Do not eat it. FSIS: "These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase."
  • If you cannot see the number, the notice gives no dates, lot codes or store list to identify re-stickered meat. Asking the store where its goat, oxtail, pork feet, chorizo or menudo mix came from is this desk's suggestion, not FSIS's.
  • Questions: the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline is 888-674-6854 (888-MPHotline), or MPHotline@usda.gov. The company's listed number is 252-239-0610.
  • Retailers and restaurants are "urged not to sell or serve these products".
  • Store lists: FSIS will post retail distribution lists when available; none was posted on September 27.

What the record does not say

  • Where the meat was slaughtered or processed, or who applied the EST. 1363 marks. It names the recalling firm and the distributor, and no plant.
  • Whether anyone faces charges. A recall is not an enforcement finding, and the notice mentions no criminal, civil or administrative action.
  • How the problem came to light beyond "during FSIS surveillance activities".
  • Whether any of the meat was contaminated. No test result is reported.
  • Where it was sold, or how much of the 167,639 pounds has been recovered.

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