Nearly 19,000 pounds of ready-to-eat meat recalled

Nearly 19,000 pounds of ready-to-eat sausage, sliced meat and poultry have been recalled because of high levels of sodium nitrate.

Smith Packing, LLC, issued a recall of about 18,792 pounds of its meat after receiving complaints from customers saying that products ‘were off-taste and off-color’, announced the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

The Utica, New York-based company then found that various of its products had sodium nitrate levels over the regulatory limit.

Affected items were produced from February 19 to April 24. They have establishment number EST 4578 or P-4578 in the USDA mark of inspection.

The meat was shipped to retail and institutional locations in New York.

There were no immediate reports of consumers becoming sick from the meat.

Any consumers with concerns are urged to contact a healthcare provider.

The FSIS announced the recall on Tuesday.

‘FSIS is concerned that some products may be in institutional and consumers’ refrigerators or freezers,’ stated the agency.

‘Consumers and institutions who have purchased these products are urged not to consume or use them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.’

Joe Schaeffer, who is a spokesperson for Palmer Food Services which operates Smith Packing, stated that the company ‘immediately shut down production, alerted the USDA, and determined the products contained an excessive amount of a curing agent’.

About 34 customers received ‘potentially inedible meats’ and roughly 90% of the affected product did not leave the warehouse, he told Fox News Digital.

‘Palmer is working with those customers to recover and destroy any potentially affected product,’ said Schaeffer.

It is the latest mass recall involving meat in the US.

In mid-March, Idaho Smokehouse Partners, LLC, recalled nearly 30,000 pounds of ready-to-eat beef sticks over possible contamination with metal pieces.

And in October, nearly 10million pounds of meat in frozen dinners and packaged salads were recalled over concerns of listeria contamination. The meals were distributed to giant grocery chains including Trader Joe’s Amazon fresh, Kroger and Jenny Craig.

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