- A large-scale meat recall has been issued by a Philidelphia-based company that apparently didn’t get its meat inspected before it was sent to retailers and customers.
- The establishment, CLS Gourmet CL Saigon Food Company, is recalling 128,841 pounds of a bunch of different meat products because federal inspection never took place.
- The meats were sold as far back as April 2020, so there’s a good chance some of it is sitting in freezers around the United States.
If you’re getting all your vital supplies ready for a New Year’s Eve feast, you’re going to want to go ahead and double-check any meat you’re planning to gobble down in honor of 2020 coming to a close. A new recall bulletin posted by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) reveals that roughly 130,000 pounds of meat from one distributor failed to go through the federal inspection process, meaning that there’s no guarantee it’s okay to eat.
The company, CLS Gourmet CL Saigon Food Company, which is based out of Philadelphia, is recalling 128,841 pounds of a variety of both pre-cooked and raw meat products due to the error. The variety of products included in the recall is large, and some of the meat was sold as far back as April 2020.
The meats were distributed by the company between April 29th and December 5th of this year. That’s a huge range of time, and since many of the foods were sold frozen, there’s a really good chance that there’s a lot of this meat still sitting in customers’ freezers across the country.
What’s particularly interesting about this recall is that it’s the end result of what seems to be a pretty in-depth investigation. The FSIS noted that the meats were sold at retail with labels indicating they were inspected, but they were not. They even surveilled the company and determined that it was putting these labels on its products despite the USDA never clearing them.
The problem was discovered after various meat products produced by CL Saigon Food Co. and labeled with the marks of inspection were observed in commerce at a retail market. FSIS conducted surveillance at the establishment and confirmed that the firm distributed amenable products without the benefit of inspection.
Yikes!
Here’s a full list of the products included in the recall (apologies for all the ridiculous caps from the USDA’s bulletin):
- 15-oz., poly casing package of raw “Chả Sống, Sài gòn UNCOOKED PORK ROLL WITH FLAVORED FISH SAUCE.” The product includes “KEEP FROZEN” on the label.
- 15-oz., poly casing package of raw “Nem Nướng, Sài gòn UNCOOKED CURED PORK ROLL WITH FLAVORED FISH SAUCE.” The product includes “KEEP REFRIGERATED” on the label.
- 15-oz. and 30-oz., poly casing packages of fully cooked “Sài gòn CHẢ LỤA ĐẶC BIỆT SỐ 1, COOKED PORK ROLL FLAVORED WITH ANCHOVY FLAVORED FISH SAUCE.” The product includes “KEEP REFRIGERATED” on the label.
- 30-oz., poly casing package of fully cooked “Sài gòn CHẢ LỤA ĐẶC BIỆT SỐ 1, COOKED PORK ROLL FLAVORED WITH ANCHOVY FLAVORED FISH SAUCE.” The product includes “PREVIOUSLY HANDLED FROZEN FOR YOUR PROTECTION. REFREEZE OR KEEP REFRIGERATED.” on the label.
- 15-oz. and 30-oz., poly casing packages of fully cooked “Sài gòn CHẢ HUẾ ĐẶC BIỆT, COOKED PORK ROLL FLAVORED WITH ANCHOVY FLAVORED FISH SAUCE.” The product includes “KEEP REFRIGERATED” on the label.
- 15-oz. and 30-oz., poly casing packages of fully cooked “Sài gòn CHẢ HUẾ ĐẶC BIỆT, COOKED PORK ROLL FLAVORED WITH ANCHOVY FLAVORED FISH SAUCE.” The product includes “PREVIOUSLY HANDLED FROZEN FOR YOUR PROTECTION. REFREEZE OR KEEP REFRIGERATED.” on the label.
- 15-oz. and 30-oz., poly casing packages of fully cooked “THIT NGUỘI, Sài gòn, COOKED PORK FLAVORED WITH FISH SAUCE.” The product includes “KEEP REFRIGERATED” on the label.
- 15-oz. and 30-oz., poly casing packages of fully cooked “PATÉ Sài gòn, PATE PASTE WITH PORK & PORK LIVER.” The product includes “KEEP REFRIGERATED” on the label.
- 15-oz., saran wrap package of fully cooked “Sài gòn CHẢ CHIÊN, FRY PORK ROLL FLAVORED WITH ANCHOVY FLAVORED FISH SAUCE.” The product includes
“KEEP FROZEN” on the label. - 15-oz., poly casing package, fully cooked “Sài gòn CHẢ BÌ, COOKED PORK ROLL & PORK SKIN FLAVORED WITH ANCHOVY FLAVORED FISH SAUCE.” The product includes “KEEP REFRIGERATED” on the label.
That’s quite a few different products, and considering they’ve been on sale for the better part of a year, that’s a whole bunch of meat that needs to be thrown out. The FSIS says it has not received any reports of adverse health reactions to the food, but that doesn’t mean you should assume it’s safe. The group is asking that any products included in the recall be returned to where they were purchased or thrown out immediately.
