The USDA flagged warning on four products the maker intended to be "nourishing"—but not from eating them, exactly.
More Than 33,000 Pounds of Beef Recalled Nationwide After Use in an Usual Product
Published on Feb. 13, 2025
From tretinoin to Botox “tweakments,” the desire to look youthful remains an evergreen pursuit in American life. Today government authorities had a warning for followers of what Vogue recently covered as a facial trend: using beef tallow balms to achieve softer skin may have even the most adventurous beauty enthusiasts turning back to good old vitamin C serum.
Thursday, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) warned that 33,899 pounds of beef tallow included in moisturizers are now under recall nationwide. The items were processed, packaged, and labeled by Common Sense Soap and sold by the beauty brand Lady May Tallow.
The FSIS discovered the problem when a local health department notified them of a packaging error that could lead consumers to eat the products. The FSIS explains: “The beef tallow products contain a nutrition facts label, leading people to believe that the product is safe for human consumption. Common Sense Soap … is not authorized to produce products intended for human consumption.” This “consumption” means specifically by oral ingestion.
But some customers may be confused, considering the Lady May Tallow beauty brand is an offshoot of Lady May Restaurant, which states they use pasture-raised, sustainably processed beef tallow as a “cornerstone” of its menu. The company’s website notes using beef tallow “in everything from pie crusts and biscuits to fried chicken,” and notes that the ingredient is “Keto, Paleo, and Whole30 friendly.”
The items were shipped from the producing firm to Lady May Tallow as well as other wholesalers and retailers without completing federal inspection, which likely would have discovered the error sooner. As a result, the items do not bear a USDA mark of inspection.
Consumers may identify the recalled items, produced between October 16, 2024 and February 6, 2025, using the following identifying information:
- 24-fl-oz. glass jar containing “PREMIUM QUALITY GOODS Grass-fed beef TALLOW Lady May ALL NATURAL”
- 2-lb. plastic tub containing “PREMIUM QUALITY GOODS Grass-fed beef TALLOW Lady May ALL NATURAL.”
- 7.8-8-lb. (1 gal) plastic tub containing “PREMIUM QUALITY GOODS Grass-fed beef Original TALLOW Lady May ALL NATURAL.”
- 16-lb. plastic tub containing “PREMIUM QUALITY GOODS Grass-fed beef TALLOW Lady May ALL NATURAL.”
“These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” the FSIS advises.
Though the product is not edible, consumers can direct their questions to a toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline by calling 888-MPHotline (888-674-6854).
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