Sukiyaki beef, ginger pork recalled due to possible ‘extraneous’ metal

Bell Gardens-based Unibright Foods Inc. is recalling over 48,000 pounds of frozen, ready-to-eat sukiyaki beef and gingered pork products that may be contaminated with “metal extraneous materials,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service says.

Los Angeles-area Japanese markets Marukai and Mitsuwa carry the frozen packages of Mishima Sukiyaki Beef and Mishima Gingered Pork, but the batches named in the recall have been pulled from their shelves.

More specifically, the recalled products are:

2.2-pound packages (“Beef Lover Size!”) of Mishima Sukiyaki Beef bearing the establishment number EST.1163 inside the USDA mark of inspection and package ID number 15069.

1.7-pound packages (“Pork Lover Size!”) of Mishima Gingered Pork bearing the establishment number EST.1163 inside the USDA mark of inspection and package ID number 15059.

The recalled beef products were produced between Aug. 12, 2014, and Dec. 16, 2014. The gingered pork was made Aug. 5-6, 2014. The products were shipped to restaurants and retail outlets in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey and New York.

Ground zero of the recall is an unnamed restaurant in Illinois that found a stainless-steel wire in a sukiyaki beef product. Sukiyaki has many ingredients, including beef or chicken, yam noodles, tofu, onions and other vegetables in a flavorful broth — but “steel wire” is not part of the traditional recipe.

According to the manufacturer, the made-in-U.S.A. sukiyaki beef with “authentic Japanese flavor” is “perfect for making sukiyaki beef with rice, udon with beef and beef salad.” The gingered pork is ideal “for making pork bowl, pork salad and fried noodle with pork.”

The Food Safety and Inspection Service and Unibright haven’t received any reports of injury or illness from consumption of the products, but the federal agency classifies this as a Class I recall, which means the risk of “serious, adverse health consequences or death” is high.

Consumers with questions about the recall can call Jacob Fernandez at (562) 806-3221.

If you think you may have accidentally ingested some metal — and it wasn’t Goldschläger — the safety agency suggests you contact your healthcare provider.