Hot Pockets Containing Meat From "Diseased" Animals Recalled, Deemed "Unfit for Human Food"

Nestlé recalled both the Philly Steak and Cheese and Croissant Crust Philly Steak and Cheese flavors

By John Boone Feb 19, 2014 7:01 PMTags
Hot Pockethotpocket.com

Trust no meat.

Especially not the meat in Hot Pockets' Philly Steak and Cheese and Croissant Crust Philly Steak and Cheese. This week, Nestlé recalled those two versions of their Pockets in various sizes, as they possibly contained meat from "diseased and unsound animals." 

(Silver lining: At least you know it is meat and not "meat" inside Hot Pockets. Meat from "diseased and unsound animals," but meat nonetheless. Meat that, when consumed, could potentially lead to sickeness and/or death, but still, meat. So there's that.)

In a statement, Nestlé called it a "voluntary recall" and noted that, "No other batches, sizes, including multi-packs, or varieties of HOT POCKETS® brand products are affected by this recall."

The Hot Pockets recall is part of a bigger meat recall by Rancho Feeding Corporation, who were forced to recall 8.7 million pounds of beef that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service discovered was never federally inspected and came from the "diseased" animal.

The FSIS calls the products unfit for human food." (They're talking about products made from this specific meat, not all Hot Pockets. Despite what you might assume from looking at one.)

In their statement, Nestlé argues that the Rancho recall "affects many companies" and says, "While Nestlé did not purchase meat directly from Rancho, our procurement teams worked with our supply chain to understand whether any company in this chain may have purchased meat from Rancho Feeding at any time during 2013." (Translation: "It's our fault, but it's not our fault.") 

Hot Pockets spokeswoman Kate Upton has yet to comment on the recall.