Recall: You Bought Turkey Pockets. You Got Ham. Here’s What the FSIS Wants You to Know About This Recall

Let’s set the scene for this recall news. You’re at Costco, you grab a box of La Boulangerie Turkey Pesto & Swiss Cheese Pockets, toss them in your freezer, and forget about them until a random Tuesday when you need a quick lunch. You heat them up, take a bite, and think — wait, this doesn’t taste like turkey.

Surprise. It’s ham.

That’s not a fun Tuesday. And it’s exactly the situation that prompted the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to issue a public health alert on March 13, 2026.

What the FSIS Actually Said

The FSIS issued a public health alert — not a full recall, and we’ll explain why in a second — for frozen ready-to-eat turkey stuffed pastry products manufactured by Shaw Bakers LLC. The issue? Misbranding. Some boxes labeled as “Turkey Pesto & Swiss Cheese Pockets” actually contained ham and cheese stuffed pastries instead.

That’s not just a labeling oops. For people with dietary restrictions, religious requirements, or straight-up personal preferences around what they eat, biting into undisclosed ham when you thought you were eating turkey is a real problem.

Which Products Are Affected

Here’s the important part. You’ll want to check your freezer for this specific product:

• 25.4-oz. boxes containing eight pieces of “LA BOULANGERIE TURKEY PESTO & SWISS CHEESE POCKETS”
• Lot code: 04926
• Best by date: 02/18/27
• Establishment number: P-51243A (printed inside the USDA mark of inspection)

These products were packaged on February 18, 2026, and were shipped to Costco locations across the Midwest. If you’re not in the Midwest, you’re probably fine. But if you are — go check your freezer right now. Seriously, we’ll wait.

Why There’s No Formal Recall

Here’s where it gets a little technical, and honestly, kind of interesting from a food safety process standpoint. The FSIS did not request a formal recall because the product is no longer available for purchase. By the time the alert was issued, it had already cleared store shelves.

A recall makes the most sense when a product is still actively being sold and needs to be pulled. In this case, the concern is purely about what’s already sitting in people’s freezers at home, which is why the FSIS moved quickly to issue a public health alert instead.

Two consumer complaints tipped off Shaw Bakers LLC, who then notified the FSIS. No adverse health reactions have been reported. But the agency is rightly concerned that mislabeled product is still floating around in Midwest freezers, waiting to surprise someone.

What You Should Do

If you have this product at home, here’s your action plan:

1. Check your packaging. Look for lot code 04926 and a best by date of 02/18/27.
2. Return it to Costco. You don’t need to eat mystery meat. The product can be returned to the place of purchase.
3. Contact Shaw Bakers directly with any questions: reach out to Sharanya Bhaskara, Food Safety and Quality Assurance Director, at [email protected].

If you’ve already eaten it and you’re concerned about a reaction, contact a healthcare provider. And if you want to report a problem or ask questions about food safety more broadly, the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline is available at 888-674-6854, or you can email [email protected].

The Bigger Picture on Food Misbranding

This kind of situation is more common than people realize. Food misbranding — where a product’s label doesn’t accurately reflect its contents — can happen during packaging line errors, cross-contamination of product runs, or simple human error at scale. When you’re producing thousands of units a day, one line mix-up can affect a whole batch.

That’s not an excuse. It’s just context. The system worked here — consumers flagged it, the manufacturer reported it, and the FSIS moved fast. That’s how it’s supposed to go.

But it’s also a solid reminder that checking your frozen food labels before you eat isn’t paranoia. It’s just smart.