Frozen Meals Recalled

A Texas company recalled over 18,000 pounds of frozen, fully-cooked jambalaya and gumbo meals that were produced without federal inspection. Wild Cajun Meals LLC of Garland, Texas shipped the frozen meals to retailers in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, even though they were not inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The products were made beginning in September 2021 and have different sell-by dates, according to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

The recall covers 32-oz. plastic containers of "Lady Jambalaya Homemade Jumbalaya" and 32-oz. plastic containers of "Lady Jambalaya Homemade Gumbo." None of the products include the USDA mark of inspection because Wild Cajun Meals is not a federally-inspected company. There have been no reports of illnesses linked to the meals. Images of the labels can be found by clicking here.

The FSIS discovered the problem during routine surveillance and found that the products did not include the USDA mark of inspection on the label. They were made in a facility never inspected by the USDA. The FSIS is concerned that consumers may still have these products in their freezers. Consumers are urged not to eat the products, which should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

This is not the first time the USDA warned consumers about a product that reached store shelves without federal inspection this month. On Jan. 11, the FSIS warned consumers that A & S Produce Inc.'s Greenland Food Company products were shipped to stores without inspection. The warning covered 1-lb. vacuum-packed packages of fully cooked, frozen swai fried fish cutlet products labeled "Fried Fish Cutlet," produced between July 2022 and September 2022. The products are no longer available in stores, but they have a shelf life of two years, so the FSIS was concerned that consumers may still have them in their freezers. There were no confirmed reports of illnesses related to the consumption of the products.

Frozen food products are often recalled for various reasons. Over the summer, Pizza John's recalled over 150,000 pounds of frozen pizzas because they were not federally inspected. The recall covered pepperoni pizzas produced and distributed between March 2020 and July 2022. The products included were the 33.25-oz. plastic-wrapped packages of "Pizza John's Bake at Home 12-inch Pepperoni Pizza" and the 57-oz. clear plastic-wrapped packages of "Pizza John's Back at Home 16-inch Pepperoni Pizza." The products were never inspected because Pizza John's is not a federally inspected establishment. The pizzas were sent to retailers in Maryland.