Check your freezer: ‘Ineligible’ pork products sent to New Jersey

⚫ Products included in a health alert have been sent to NJ and other states

⚫ The bags arrived from a country that's ineligible to export meat to the U.S.

⚫ You're being advised to throw out the meat, or return it

Illegally imported meat products may have made their way into your home.

A public health alert has been issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service, regarding products that have been imported from Ecuador, a country that's ineligible to export meat and poultry products to the United States.

As of now, only one product is targeted with the alert, but officials are continuing to investigate and may add products to the list.

The affected product

The current alert is for frozen ready-to-eat pork mortadella products.

Specifically, officials want consumers to be on the lookout for one-pound vacuum-sealed packages of "Mortadela Especial Bolognia." The products do no feature the USDA mark of inspection or an establishment number, according to officials.

The USDA says the packages were shipped to retail and distributor locations in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Rhode Island.

Get rid of it

Authorities discovered the issue while performing surveillance activities at a warehouse.

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There's concern that the illegally imported product may be in consumers' freezers. Anyone who's purchased the mortadella is urged not to eat it.

"These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase," the health alert says.

As of now, there have been no confirmed reports of illness due to consumption of the pork.

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