Health officials are advising consumers not to eat certain summer sausages after they were found to possibly be contaminated with a foreign material. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued an urgent public health alert on Nov. 30 for fully cooked summer sausage products after a consumer reported finding plastic in the product.
The health alert affects two different products, which officials are now urging consumers to throw out. At the center of the alert is 1-lb. chubs containing “JET HIGH PRAIRIE MEATS SUMMER SAUSAGE.” The product has lot code 220715 represented on the label. Also affected is 1-lb. chubs containing “FANTASMA’S finest SUMMER SAUSAGE” with lot code 220715 represented on the label. Both of the products were shipped to retail locations in Kansas and Missouri and additional locations through online sales and bear establishment number “EST. 31865” inside the USDA mark of inspection. Images of the products and their labels can be viewed by clicking here.
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The FSIS issued the public health alert after being notified by the company of a consumer complaint “reporting clear plastic embedded within multiple packages of summer sausage products.” To date, there have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of the product. A recall was not requested or issue due to the fact that the products are no longer available for purchase.
Despite the products not being recalled, the FSIS said there remains concern that the fully cooked summer sausage products at the center of the health alert may be in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers. The agency advised consumers who may still have this product not to eat it. Instead, the product should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.
While products are most commonly recalled over contamination issues like salmonella or listeria, recalls due to contamination of a foreign object also are not all that uncommon. Just weeks ago, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) alerted consumers to a recall of Sélection du Pâtissier brand Lemon and Poppyseed Poundcakes. Sold in Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec, the poundcakes were recalled due to pieces of plastic potentially being in the product. That same month. Nestlé USA issued a recall on Nestlé Toll House cookie dough snacks because the packages could contain soft plastic film. The recall was issued out of an “abundance of caution,” and no illnesses were reported. In October, Foster Farms, a company that produces chicken products sold at Costco stores, recalled 80-oz packages of “Chicken Patties Breaded Chicken Breast Patties with Rib Meat” due to possible plastic contamination.
