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Kayem chicken sausages are now being recalled after a mislabeling error, which can result in a safety risk for consumers.
The voluntary recall, announced by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (within the United States Department of Agriculture) has been issued by Kayem Foods Incorporated, a food company headquartered in Chelsea, Massachusetts.
The popular manufacturer of deli meat, sausages and hot dogs was alerted about the dangers posed by one of its products after several clients contacted the company’s hotline, in order to report a case of mislabeling.
As officials were told, “Al Fresco Sweet Apple Chicken Sausages” had been incorrectly packaged, information appearing on labels referring to a completely different food item, identified as “Al Fresco Apple Maple Breakfast” sausages.
After investigating the complaints, Kayem inspectors came to the conclusion that no only had the meat products been mislabeled, but they had also been contaminated with foreign matter.
Obviously, the chicken sausages, which are marketed as gluten-free and devoid of any artificial ingredients, should’ve only contained poultry meat, and yet the food item had a natural casing made of pork membrane.
The compound hadn’t been featured on the product’s list of ingredients, and was therefore likely to cause adverse reactions among those who were allergic to the 65-kDa protein, found in pork.
That is why company executives decided that the best decision was to remove all these chicken sausages from supermarket shelves, in order to limit dangers faced by consumers as much as possible.
The recall involves a total of 22,182 pounds of these mislabeled food items, that had been distributed to Trader Joe’s and other retailers across the entire country, in vacuum packs weighing 12 ounces.
The potentially hazardous batches can be identified based on several features. More precisely, their date of manufacture is November 4, 2015, while their “best if used by” date is February 7, 2016, and appears right after the following code: 308 BW12.
Another way to confirm that one has indeed bought one of the supposedly chicken products included in the recall is to verify the establishment number marked on the packaging, which is EST P-7839 for the mislabeled items.
According to Kayem representatives, so far no consumer has contacted them in order to inform them of health issues or complications, triggered by these food products. Even so, it’s advisable to be on alert and avoid consuming these chicken sausages, especially one is allergic to pork.
Instead, those who have bought these meat packs should discard them, and take the proof of purchase to the shop where the transaction was completed, in order to benefit from a full refund.
Those who are already exhibiting negative reactions after having consumed the chicken sausages should alert a doctor immediately, in order to receive adequate treatment as soon as possible.
Additional information related to the recall can be accessed by contacting Kayem’s customer service manager, Brenda Navaroli, at 1 800-426-6100.
Image Source: SCPR
