The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a public health alert of a Heritage Specialty Foods LLC product due to concerns that fully cooked, ready-to-eat (RTE) pasta sauce labeled as pizza sauce contains anchovies and milk, known allergens, as well as ground beef and sulfites, which are not declared on the product label. FSIS is issuing this public health alert to ensure that consumers are aware that these products should not be consumed. A recall was not requested because the products are no longer available for purchase. 

The fully cooked, RTE pasta sauce items are labeled as pizza sauce, produced on January 25, 2023 and are in a 16-oz. tub stating, “NEW SEASONS BRIGHT & FLAVORFUL HOMESTYLE PIZZA SAUCE with slow-simmered plum tomatoes,” on the label. The best if used by date is March 26, 2023. The product subject to the public health alert does not bear a USDA establishment number or mark of inspection. These items were shipped to retail locations in Oregon and Washington.

The problem was discovered after the firm received a consumer complaint that meat was in the pizza sauce and notified FSIS. The establishment determined that employees labeled a limited number of “Bolognese Pasta Sauce” packages as “Homestyle Pizza Sauce”. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.