Kayem Foods Issues Class I Recall of 1.6 Million Pounds of Ready-to-Eat Meat Products

Kayem Foods announced a recall of roughly 1.6 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products, including hot dogs, bacon, brisket, ham and chicken sausage. The recall follows a cooling failure at a distribution warehouse that federal officials described as possible temperature abuse, leading the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service to issue a Class I recall, the agency’s most serious level, citing a reasonable probability of serious health consequences or death for consumers.

The affected items were produced between March 31 and Oct. 7 and were shipped across the United States and to Hong Kong. They bear establishment numbers EST. M/P 7839, EST. P 20935A or EST. M 9520 in the USDA inspection mark. No illnesses have been reported, but the company advises consumers to discard or return the products.

The problem was identified after a retail customer reported warm product temperatures on Oct. 1, prompting an internal investigation. Food-safety experts note that cooking to the proper temperature does not guarantee safety, and visual or olfactory cues are unreliable. > "One of the most important things for consumers to understand is that you cannot reliably determine whether food is safe by looking at it, smelling it, or tasting it," said Melissa Vaccaro of the National Environmental Health Association. > "Food can contain disease-causing microorganisms without looking or smelling spoiled. And never taste questionable food to decide whether it is safe."