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MASSACHUSETS FIRM RECALLS READY-TO-EAT FROZEN BEEF SANDWICH PRODUCTS FOR POSSIBLE LISTERIA CONTAMINATION

Recommendations for people at risk for Listeriosis

Wash hands with warm, soapy water before and after handling raw meat and poultry for at least 20 seconds. Wash cutting boards, dishes and utensils with hot, soapy water. Immediately clean spills.

Keep raw meat, fish and poultry away from other food that will not be cooked.  Use separate cutting boards for raw meat, poultry and egg products and cooked foods.

Do not eat hot dogs, luncheon meats, bologna or other deli meats unless reheated until steaming hot.
 
Do not eat refrigerated pate, meat spreads from a meat counter or smoked seafood found in the refrigerated section of the store. Foods that don’t need refrigeration, like canned tuna and canned salmon, are safe to eat. Refrigerate after opening.

Do not drink raw (unpasteurized) milk and do not eat foods that have unpasteurized milk in them. 

Do not eat salads made in the store such as ham salad, chicken salad, egg salad, tuna salad or seafood salad.

Do not eat soft cheeses such as Feta, quesco blanco, quesco fresco, Brie, Camembert cheeses, blue-veined cheeses and Panela unless it is labeled as made with pasteurized milk. 

Use precooked or ready-to-eat food as soon as you can. Listeria can grow in the refrigerator. The refrigerator should be
40 ºF or lower and the freezer 0º F or lower. Use an appliance thermometer to check the temperature of your refrigerator.               

WASHINGTON, Nov. 28, 2008 – Home Market Foods, Inc., a Norwood, Mass., firm, is recalling approximately 5,250 pounds of ready-to-eat frozen beef sandwich portions that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.

The following product is subject to recall:

  • 3.5-ounce individually wrapped packages of “Blimpie FULLY COOKED SEASONED BEEF SHAVED STEAKS Thinly Sliced with Onions.” Each label bear the establishment number “EST. 2727” inside the USDA mark of inspection as well as a printed Julian date of “3198,” “3228” or “3238,” on the products available for consumer purchase.

 

The ready-to-eat frozen beef portions were produced on Nov. 14, 17, 18 and 20, 2008, and distributed to retail institutions in the Atlanta metropolitan area, California, Florida, Illinois and New York.

The problem was discovered through company testing. FSIS has received no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of this product.

Consumption of food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease. Healthy people rarely contract listeriosis. However, listeriosis can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. Listeriosis can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths, as well as serious and sometimes fatal infections in those with weakened immune systems, such as infants, the elderly and persons with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy.

Consumers with questions about the recall should contact company Customer Relations Manager Deborah Schoeller at (781) 948-1585.  Media with questions about the recall should contact company President Wes Atamian at (781) 948-1502.

Consumers with food safety questions can “Ask Karen,” the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov.  The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from l0 a.m. to
4 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day.

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Board of Health contact:

781-270-1955

Nurses contact:

781-270-1957

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