Almost 50,000 pounds of pork patties were recalled after it was determined that they could be contaminated with outside materials, including black rubber.
The United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced the recall on Friday, explaining that 48,371 pounds of ground pork patty products were affected. The products that could be contaminated were produced and packaged on September 27, 2018, October 17, 2018, and October 18, 2018.
If the product is included in the recall it will have the establishment number "34225" printed on the carton under the "Best Flavor By" date. Items were shipped nationwide and were identified as:
- 24-oz. (1.5 lbs.) plastic bag in a carton of frozen "Johnsonville Grillers CHEDDAR CHEESE & BACON FLAVOR" with "Best Flavor By: 7/24/2019" represented on the label.
- 24-oz. (1.5 lbs.) plastic bag in a carton of frozen "Johnsonville Grillers CHEDDAR CHEESE & BACON FLAVOR" with "Best Flavor By: 8/13/2019" represented on the label.
- 24-oz. (1.5 lbs.) plastic bag in a carton of frozen "Johnsonville Grillers CHEDDAR CHEESE & BACON FLAVOR" with "Best Flavor By: 8/14/2019" represented on the label.
Johnsonville said the products were shipped to retail locations in 31 states and the company was working with its partners to remove the affected items from stores. The states where products were shipped included Arizona Alabama, California, Kentucky, Ohio and Texas.
Before the recall was issued, three customers complained that there was black rubber in the product and the FSIS was notified on Thursday. As of the recall announcement, the FSIS didn't receive any reports of adverse reactions caused by consuming the pork patties. However, if someone does start to feel sick, they should contact a healthcare provider.
"While there have been only three incidents reported, we are committed to taking the safety and integrity of our products very seriously," Johnsonville said on its site.
The company said that it believes the risk the black rubber poses to human health is minimal but explained that when it comes to consumers' health, they won't take any chances.
Affected products could be in consumers' freezers and the FSIS said anyone in possession of the items should either throw them away or return them to the place where they were purchased.
The FSIS classified the recall as a Class I, which meant that it was a health hazardous situation and there was a reasonable probability that using the product could cause health problems or death. It's the most serious of the three classifications, which include not causing adverse health consequences and having a remote probability of causing problems to people's health.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jenni Fink is a senior editor at Newsweek, based in New York. She leads the National News team, reporting on ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
