Only a few weeks into 2015, this past weekend created early buzz in terms of food safety as USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) reported four high-risk recalls Saturday for a variety of meat and poultry products.

Kalle USA of Chicago recalled approximately 168,473 pounds of pork products that were not presented for inspection at US points of entry. The products were distributed in the following states: Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.                                 

According to FSIS, the problem was discovered using the Public Health Information System (PHIS) during a routine review of import shipment data. It was found that the product failed to present at a Chicago, Ill. point of entry for FSIS re-inspection.

Also in Chicago, La Guadalupana Wholesale, Inc. recalled 8,856 pounds of chicken tamales because they were not produced under a fully implemented Ready-To-Eat (RTE) Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan; a Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) program; and a hazard analysis.

The products were produced from Dec. 1, 2014 through Jan. 5, 2015, and then packaged using a Cryovac machine by a co-packer of La Guadalupana Wholesale from Nov.19, 2014 through Jan. 2, 2015. FSIS said La Guadalupana Wholesale’s co-packer did not conduct a hazard analysis to determine the food safety hazards reasonably likely to occur in the cryovacing process and did not identify the preventive measures the establishment could apply to control those hazards.

An FSIS inspector discovered the problem as the inspector conducted a sanitation task in the co-packer’s establishment and saw plant personnel handling the RTE product in a room where raw product is also handled.

In Georgia, Sentry Food Solutions recalled approximately 14,130 pounds of chicken and beef products due to misbranding and an undeclared allergen. FSIS said the products may contain peanuts which are not declared on the label. The problem was discovered when Sentry Food Solutions was notified by its spice supplier that the cumin in a spice mix used to formulate the products may have been contaminated with peanut allergens.

An additional 3,233 pounds of pork products were recalled by Food Club Corp.—formerly located in Los Altos, Calif., and is now located in Key Biscayne, Fla.—because the products which were produced in Spain were not presented at the US point of entry for inspection.

These products, with “Sell-by” dates from June 19, 2014 through Dec. 10, 2015, were shipped to customers via the Internet in California. FSIS said the problem was discovered using the Public Health Information System (PHIS) during a routine review of import shipment data. It was found that the product failed to present at a San Francisco point of entry for FSIS re-inspection and was detained mailing facility.

 In all cases, neither FSIS nor the companies have received any reports of adverse health reactions due to the consumption of any of the products.