Whole Foods is recalling 73,898 pounds of pepperoni pizza products shipped throughout New England due to mislabeling.
The USDA says that the well-known grocer is recalling their store-brand frozen pies because for the whole past year, the "uncured beef pepperoni" on the label has actually been pork. According to the agency's Food Safety and Inspection Service, the discovery of the error came during a customary label review, and it has blamed the blunder on a change of ingredient suppliers.
"At Whole Foods Market we understand that our customers rely on us to provide accurate labeling to meet dietary needs," the company said in a statement. "This was an unfortunate human error and it has been corrected. We are working diligently to have this product back on our shelves as quickly as possible."
The frozen pizzas manufactured between Jan. 5, 2015, and Jan. 22, 2016 were shipped for sale to Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.
Supposing that you haven't eaten them yet, the grocery chain's customers are urged not to eat them. Instead, they are advised to return or throw out the wrongly labeled pizza.
The recall applies to 10- and 19-ounce vacuum-sealed packages labeled "Whole Food Markets, pizza, pepperoni, 8" and "Whole Foods Market, pizza, pepperoni, 12." They also bear the establishment number "EST. 20234", and has sell-by dates of Jan. 12, 2015, through Jan. 30, 2016.
Whole Foods also state that so far, there have been no confirmed accounts of adverse reactions or illnesses due to the consumption of the pizza.
