Check your fridge. Right now. Before you finish reading this.
On Saturday, the USDA announced one of the biggest meat recalls of the year. Kayem Foods, out of Chelsea, Massachusetts, is pulling 1,584,361 pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry off shelves nationwide. Hot dogs. Bacon. Deli ham. Turkey. Bologna. Kielbasa. Bratwurst. Chicken sausage. Meatballs. If it's sliced, smoked, or stuffed into a casing, there's a good chance it's on the list.
Here's what happened. A warehouse cooler at Kayem's facility started having temperature problems. Ready-to-eat meat sat in it anyway. A retail customer got a delivery on October 1st and noticed the product was warm. Warm. On meat you're supposed to eat straight out of the package.
The USDA classified this as a Class I recall. That's the highest risk category they have. It means there's a reasonable probability that eating this stuff could cause serious health problems or death. The danger is Listeria — the bacteria that thrives when refrigerated meat warms up, and the one that's especially dangerous for pregnant women, older adults, and anyone with a weakened immune system.
The products were made between March 31 and October 7 of this year. Some of them have long shelf lives. That means a package you bought in the spring or summer could still be sitting in your refrigerator or freezer today, and the USDA is openly worried about exactly that.
Here's how to check. Look inside the USDA mark of inspection on the package — that little round stamp. If you see EST. M/P 7839, EST. P 20935A, or EST. M 9520, it's part of the recall. Don't eat it. Throw it away or take it back to the store.
The brands involved include Kayem, Genoa, Al Fresco, Triple M, McKenzie Country Classics, Deutschmacher, Jordan's, Essem, and Winnisimmet. Over 100 individual products. Shipped to stores across the entire country — which means Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey shelves are all in play.
No illnesses have been confirmed yet. Let's hope it stays that way.
But this isn't the only thing on the shelf you need to worry about right now.
Walmart's bettergoods Lemon Alfredo Fettuccine — the 22-ounce package — has been recalled across all lot codes for possible Listeria contamination. If you've got one in your freezer, check it.
Great Value and Trader Joe's frozen berries are under recall for potential E. coli contamination. Specific lots of Great Value Organic Triple Berry Blend, Great Value Organic Blueberries, and Trader Joe's Organic Mixed Berry Blend. Match your UPC and lot codes before you blend that smoothie.
And here's the one that should make you angry. Fifty people across the country have been sickened by E. coli from ready-to-eat chicken wraps. Fifty. The FDA knows. The USDA knows. And neither one will tell you the brand name. The wraps were "proactively removed" from the market, which means there's technically no recall — and without a recall, they say they can't name the company. So fifty families got sick, and the rest of us can't even check our fridges because nobody will say whose wraps they were.
That's the system working exactly as designed. And that's the problem.
This is Recall Radar — and it's going to be a recurring section here. Every recall, every outbreak, every time something on a grocery store shelf in our area turns out to be dangerous, you'll see it here. Keep your eye out for it. Here at Team Murphy Media, we look to keep your family safe in every aspect.
Brought to you by Team Murphy Media.