H-E-B Adds Hill Country Fare Tuna To Growing Recall List

Image courtesy of (Steve)

Just days after Bumble Bee Tuna and Chicken of the Sea recalled hundreds of thousands of cans of tuna that may have been contaminated with unwelcome pathogens, Texas grocery store H-E-B announced its own recall of 10,752 cans of tuna for similar reasons. 

H-E-B announced the recall of 224 cases of Hill Country Fare branded five-ounce Chunk Light Tuna in Oil.

According to a notice posted with the Food and Drug Administration, the recall was initiated after a routine inspection of a co-packing plant found tuna had been undercooked due to an equipment malfunction.

recalled-HEB-Hill-Country-Fare-tuna

“These deviations were part of the commercial sterilization process and could result in contamination by spoilage organisms or pathogens, which could lead to life-threatening illness if consumed,” the company said, noting that no illnesses had been reported.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because it is: Bumble Bee gave the same reason of its recall of 31,757 cases of tuna last week.

That product was produced at a Lyons, GA, plant owned by Tri-Union Seafoods, which makes Chicken of the Sea tuna.

A rep for Tri-Union told Consumerist that those two recalls were related, as they were made at the same plant at the same time. It’s unclear if the H-E-B recalled tuna was made at the same plant. We’ve reached out to both H-E-B and Tri-Union, and will update this post when we hear back.

For now, customers can identify the affected Hill Country Fare tuna by the UPC number of: 0 4122065335 5 and a produce lot code number of: 6O9FZ SCEES. The recalled cans have best-by dates of Feb. 9, 2019.

Anyone who bought the recalled tuna can return it to the store for a full refund. Customers with any questions or concerns may contact H-E-B 855-432-4438, Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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