Costco and health officials on Tuesday said they would investigate how metal blade shards ended up in a package of pork short ribs sold at the store’s Neihu (內湖) location in Taipei.
A customer on Monday evening contacted the Costco customer service line about two metal shards found in spare ribs purchased from the store, Costco said.
No one was harmed, and a representative has been sent to retrieve the product for further investigation, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Department of Health via CNA
The ribs were cut and packaged at a processing plant in Pingtung County, but its maintenance records do not show any damage to the bone saw used, Costco said.
The Taipei Department of Health said it had sent personnel to investigate, and would transfer the case to its counterpart in Pingtung County.
Local health, consumer protection and Food and Drug Administration officials visited the Neihu Costco on Tuesday to confirm that the product was not cut at the store, the department said, adding that they also did not find any serrated knives or food safety violations.
Only one complaint has been received and no other abnormalities were found in the rest of the batch, it added.
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