There are tons of ways to enjoy hash browns. You can fry them up with some garlic and onions, cover them in melted cheese, or simply squirt some ketchup on top. We’ve seen people take their hash browns with all sorts of additions, but one thing we never expected to hear about finding in the dish is a golf ball. Clearly no one else expected this either and, oddly enough, that’s why two brands of Frozen Southern Style Hash Browns are currently being recalled.
A few days ago, McCain Foods USA, Inc. announced a voluntary recall of its frozen hash brown products. According to the announcement, the reason for the recall was that they may be contaminated with "extraneous golf ball materials." Weird, right? You may be wondering how in the world golf balls got into the mix. We were certainly curious. The company explained that golf balls may have accidentally been picked up with the potatoes while they were being harvested. So perhaps the potato field was located near a golf course, and golfers had mistakenly hit their balls into the field. And, maybe someone wasn't paying attention while the potatoes were being dug up and some golf balls made their way into the mix, too. It's an odd scene to imagine.
As you've probably already guessed, eating anything that contains pieces of golf balls is dangerous, since golf balls are made of plastic and rubber. McCain Foods also pointed out in its announcement that the contaminated hash browns could be a choking hazard, though no injuries have been reported thus far.
So which brands do we need to avoid eating so as to sidestep chocking on golf ball bits? Both Roundy’s brand and Harris Teeter brand two-pound bags of Frozen Southern Style Hash Browns are being recalled. These products were manufactured on January 19, 2017 and should have a production code date of B170119 printed on the back of their packages. The Roundy's hash browns were sold in Illinois and Wisconsin, while the Harris Teeter brand was sold in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, and D.C. If you have a package of these hash browns hanging out in your freezer, you should either return it to your retailer or simply throw it away. Toss them in the trash, while you yell "Fore!" and everything should be fine.