dpAUSTIN, Texas (KEYE) — Nearly 30,000 pounds of raw beef imported from Argentina and sold in Texas and Florida is under recall, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as questions swirl around the beef. And a string of food recalls issued this summer grows.
The beef recall notice points to missed import re-inspections as the cause, but the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service classified the recalled beef as a Class I health hazard, the agency’s highest risk category. The recall notice did not mention any specific contaminants.
Dr. Darin Detwiler, a nationally recognized food safety advocate, professor, and policy advocate who did not want his face on camera, said the Class I designation suggests the issue is more than routine paperwork. “It’s not like a paperwork thing; you know someone made the decision. This does not have to be reinspected at the border,” Detwiler said.
Detwiler also questioned how the recall was characterized, given that no contaminant was specified. “I find this curious because it’s kind of like saying, hey, this is a paperwork problem; this is a bureaucratic problem. We forgot to do this, we missed this inspection, and we have no indication that there’s any problem, but we’re going to give it the highest classification of risk,” he said.
It was not immediately clear which retailers sold the beef. The distributor did not respond to a request for comment.
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The recall comes amid heightened attention on foreign beef imports. Last Friday, President Trump announced on Truth Social a plan to allow up to 300,000 pounds of foreign beef over the next 90 days to be sold at 25 percent less than current market prices.
Detwiler pointed to the timing of the announcement and the recall.
“This is where we get political, 24-48 hours about the administration approving meat coming from Argentina at a time that there’s a major recall of some 30000 pounds of meat because of failure to inspect it,” he said.
On Monday, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico released a statement criticizing the plan, saying, “D.C. politicians are flooding the market with foreign beef and making it harder for them to get by. This is a political stunt that will only boost foreign competitors and make life harder for Texas cattlemen.” I reached out to Republican candidate Ken Paxton’s campaign but did not get a response.
Since Trump’s announcement, Detwiler said, online discussion has fueled confusion about what is happening with beef imports and the recall.
“I don’t want to say it’s the imagination of the internet. What I want to say is it’s amazing how we have all these kinds of conflicting pieces of information coming together right now at a time where there is this recall of the meat from Argentina,” he said.
A request for comment was also sent to the campaign for the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, but no response was received.
