If you’ve been snagging ham or pepperoni for easy meals during the holiday season, you’ll want to take a look at this recall. Alexander & Hornung, the business unit of Perdue Premium Meat Company, Inc. recently recalled 234,391 pounds of the fully cooked meat products due to potential listeria contamination. But in an important update, the recall has now expanded to 2,320,774 pounds of products.
The recall affects many different brands of ham, including lunch meat from Wellshire, spiral sliced ham from Garrett Valley Farms and Niman Ranch uncured ham. It also affects Five Star pepperoni and pepperoni sticks. You can see the full list of products and the associated dates here.
There have been no reports of associated illness but Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, a serious infection that mostly affects older adults, people with weakened immune systems and pregnant women and newborns. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, stiff neck and convulsions and the infection spreads from the gastrointestinal tract.
The original recall listed an establishment number of “EST. M10125” inside the USDA mark of inspection but check the updated info to see if a ham product in your fridge is now included.
Check your refrigerator or freezer if you think you might have purchased one of these products and throw it away if you find it. If you have more questions about this recall and the affected products you can visit www.alexanderhornung.com or call the Alexander & Hornung Consumer Hotline at 1-866-866-3703.
If you’ve bought chicken products at Trader Joe’s recently, you’ll want to pay attention to this news. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced a recall of 97,887 pounds of raw ground chicken patty products that may be contaminated with bone fragments.
The patties were sold as Trader Joe’s Chile Lime Chicken Burgers and Spinach Feta Chicken Sliders. They were produced between Aug. 16 to Sep. 29, 2021 and sold at many of the 500 Trader Joe’s stores nationwide. The burgers were sold in one pound cardboard packages with four pieces each, while the sliders came in nine pound bulk boxes.
Customers have reported finding bone in the burger products, but there have been no reports of adverse reactions. Check your freezer and if you have one of these products, do not consume it. Throw it away or return to the store where you purchased it.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) made the announcement on Friday. The uncured meat trays were produced February 28, 2021 through August 15, 2021. Affected products are 24 ounce trays split into two 12 ounce packages: “UNCURED ANTIPASTO PROSCIUTTO, SOPPRESSATA, MILANO SALAMI & COPPA.” The UPC code is 073541305316.
After a larger salmonella outbreak in 17 states, the FSIS traced some of the illness reports back to the antipasto trays. Contamination with the bacteria can cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever and may last four to seven days. Although most people recover at home, older adults, infants and those with weakened immune systems may require hospitalization.
If you find this product in your fridge, toss it out immediately. If you have more questions regarding the recall, contact Fratelli Beretta USA Inc.’s recall hotline at 1-866-918-8738.
––Sarah Shebek
Featured image courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced a recall by Blount Fine Foods of approximately 6,384 pounds of chicken tortilla soup by Panera. The fully cooked, read to eat chicken soup may contain extraneous material in the form of pieces of gray nitrile glove.
Several customers have complained of finding the foreign matter in their product to Blount Foods, but no adverse affect have been reported. Keep reading to see all the recall details.
The recall affects 16 oz. plastic containers of Panera BREAD at HOME Chicken Tortilla Soup and was produced on Jul. 1, 2021. Soups will have a lot code 070121-1V, “Use By 09/09/2021” and establishment number “P-13130” inside the USDA mark of inspection.
Affected soups were sent to retail locations in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Texas. Consumers should check if they have any of the recalled products in their refrigerator and immediately throw away or return to the place of purchase.
Consumers can also contact Blount Fine Foods Customer Care Team at (866) 674-4519 Monday – Friday from 9 AM to 9 PM Eastern Standard Time with any additional questions.
Your hungry little sidekick is known to belt out Old MacDonald during dinner. Hey, in terms of bringing farm to table, it’s a start. Take things a big step further by signing up for one of our favorite Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs. Some these programs will deliver a CSA box to your doorstep, too.
Benefits of a CSA Not all of us have the green space, or the thumb, to grow our own healthy harvest. That's where these food delivery services come in. CSAs connect their members straight to farmers, who offer a prime array of local, organic ingredients that are often plucked from the field just hours before you lay hands (and teeth) on them. Shares (which come in the form of boxed veggies, fruits and eggs) can be delivered to your door or picked up at a nearby location.
New to CSAs? Dip your toe into the CSA pond by trying a half share, which arrives every other week or contains a smaller amount of goods, depending on the farm. As a guideline, a full share typically feeds two people on a vegetarian diet or four people on a mixed diet.
The Chicago area has plenty of CSA options. As of press time, these favorites still had openings, but all CSAs tend to fill up faster than you can say "E-I-E-I-O."
Angelic Organics
Angelic Organics
One of the largest CSAs in the U.S. was one of Chicago’s first when it began in 1991. Two years later this farming community adopted a biodynamic philosophy — a holistic mindset that emphasizes the interrelationships of soil, plants and animals as a self-sustaining system. Founder Farmer John is the subject of the award-winning film, The Real Dirt on Farmer John, which follows his personal journey through the farm debt crisis of the 1980s, which temporarily shut down operations, to the creation of Angelic Organics. Farmer John was inspired to create a CSA program because he believed it brought farming back to its roots, when farmers had a direct relationship with the people that ate the food.
Via the CSAware Platform, you can customize your shares or let Angelic Organics pick your shares.
Cost Customized shares are available as either 20 weekly or 10 bi-weekly (every other week), from early June through late October, at $40/box. You can also add a 10-week fruit share for an additional $50/box.
Extras Farmer John created Angelic Organics Learning Center as a way to help educate and mentor others with dreams of farming and provide fun learning experiences for the public. It offers day camps for kids where they help care for baby goats, tend to farm animals by brushing the horses or gathering eggs and learn about farming through fun games. Check the schedule for fun family days.
This is Chicago’s first and only USDA-certified organic, high-production urban farm. Farmers are motivated by their belief that organic agriculture can serve as a vehicle for job training, employment and community development, especially for those motivated to re-enter the workforce and rebuild their lives after incarceration, homelessness or substance dependence. Through these farms, they provide transitional employment, skills training and interpersonal development to their participants and are an invaluable resource to the local families they serve.
Pickup Green City Market, 1790 N. Clark St., Saturdays, 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Logan Square, Logan Square Blvd between Milwaukee and Whipple, Sundays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Wood Street Urban Farm, 5814 S. Wood St., Thursdays, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Iman's Fresh Beats & Eats, 2744 W. 63rd St., Fridays, 2 p.m.-6 p.m.
Certified organic with a zero-carbon footprint, Tomato Mountain feeds Chicago via their home delivery subscription box filled with fresh produce grown at their farm in Brooklyn, WI. What you receive in your box varies by the season, and you can add various a la carte produce, dairy and pantry items sourced from local farmers to your weekly box. You'll receive a list of what to expect the weekend before your upcoming delivery.
Their year is 43 weeks long and they deliver weekly in the spring, summer and fall and bi-weekly in the winter.
Pickup They deliver! The day of the week you receive your box varies by the delivery zone in which you reside.
Cost There are several options for membership, including monthly, seasonal and annual. You can also vary the size of your box: solo, small, medium and large.
Fresh Picks' mission is to get nutrient-rich food grown in the local community into Chicago households. For them, their work isn't just about promoting the health of our bodies, it's about supporting the local community in creating new jobs and breathing new life into rural communities.
Family can choose what's best for them from a full selection of locally sourced fruit, vegetables, eggs, grass-fed meats and baked goods with zero stipulations in order size, money spent or frequency.
Pickup Your selections are mailed directly to your home.
Cost You manage the cost based on your family's needs and budget.
Patchwork has not updated their information for the 2021 season, so keep an eye on their website. Below is information from the 2020 CSA season for reference.
Patchwork Farms is a bit unique in the world of CSAs as they remediate vacant land in economically deprived and environmentally distressed neighborhoods on Chicago's south and west sides, providing space for outdoor gatherings, native pollinator habitat and food crops. This allows them to improve accessibility of healthy food for their neighbors. Along with their extensive variety of veggies, they produce eggs, medicinal herbs, preserved foods, honey, cut flowers, and a run a compost drop-off program.
Pickup Members pick up their veggies at the Humboldt Park plot (2825 W. Chicago Ave.) or The Plant (1400 W. 46th St.). Pickups are Sat., Thurs., or Wed., but you are asked to commit to one of those pickup days for the entire season.
Cost Their 50-member CSA runs on a sliding scale, with a suggested price range of $135-$225 for the 9-week spring season, May. 13-Jul. 8 and $320-$560 for the 16-week summer season, Jul. 15-Oct. 31. They also have an unlimited CSA option where members have unlimited access to produce from May-Thanksgiving, which runs $1,500.
The Urban Canopy is a local unified CSA, which means they partner with other family farms in order to provide you the most diverse box possible. Not only will you receive produce from their farm in Englewood, your box will include produce from other farms, beverages from their neighbor-brewers at The Plant, coffee from a neighboring roaster and breads from local bakers. You can also add pork, beef, chicken and extra eggs to your order.
Pickup Deliveries occur on Wednesdays and are available in zones that include Edgewater, Hyde Park, Lincoln Park, Logan Square, Loop, Portage Park, Rogers Park, Roscoe Village, Southwest and suburbs, West Side and Wicker Park.
Cost Distribution begins May 13 and you can select between 22 distributions for $1,056 or 11 distributions for $572.
Nearly 12 million children in America live in households where they don’t have enough to eat, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In response to the nationwide food insecurity issue, the USDA recently announced the government agency will extend waivers that provide free meals for children through Sep. 30, 2021.
The waivers help to provide local programs with the ability to distribute free meals to all children (regardless of family income) in safe ways. These include Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), Seamless Summer Option (SSO) and allows programs to offer bulk food pick-ups for for parents that cover multiple days of meals.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, said in a press release, “We will do everything we can to make sure children get access to healthy, nutritious meals regardless of their families’ financial circumstances.
Vilsack added, “Our child nutrition professionals are doing a heroic job ensuring kids across the country have proper nutrition throughout this public health emergency, often times with limited resources. USDA is committed to providing local operators with the flexibilities and resources they need to continue offering the best meal service possible to their children, given their day-to-day realities.”
Specific meal pick-up sites vary by region. These include settings such as churches, schools, parks, libraries and community centers. Learn more about free meals for children by visiting the USDA website here.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recently announced a recall for 297,715 pounds of Milky Way International Trading Corp.’s ready-to-eat corned beef products due to concerns about FSIS import reinspection.
The recall includes corned beef items imported between Jun. 6, 2020 and Jan. 21, 2021 and have the words “Australia Inspected” and the number “39” on the product’s package.
photo courtesy of USDA FSIS
There are no reports of illnesses or adverse reactions The recall was made after a tip from an industry representative indicated the corned beef didn’t undergo the required importation reinspection.
For a full list of the recalled products, with affected codes, visit the FSIS’s website here. If you think you may have the affected products, throw them out or return them to the place of purchase. Do not eat the corned beef. Contact MW Polar Consumer Relations Specialist at 562-921-288 ext. 160 or email info@mwpolar.com with any recall-related questions.
It’s time to clean out your fridge. Bob Evans Farms, Inc. is recalling approximately 4,200 pounds of pork sausage product that may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically thin blue rubber, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.
The raw, pork sausage item was produced on December 17, 2020. The recall involves 1-lb. chubs containing “Bob Evans Italian Sausage” with lot code 0352 and a “USE/FRZ BY” date of “JAN 31 21” represented on the label. The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 6785” printed directly above the “USE/FRZ BY” date. These items were shipped to retail locations in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
The problem was discovered when Bob Evans notified FSIS that they received consumer complaints.
Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider.
Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase..
Consumers and members of the media with questions about the recall can contact Alison Emery, Director of Communications, Bob Evans Farms Inc. at 614-778-1886 or alison.emery@bobevansfoods.com.
—Jennifer Swartvagher
Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Agriculture/Featured photo: Edwin Jaulani from Pexels
Check your freezers. Nestlé Prepared Foods is recalling approximately 762,615 pounds of frozen pepperoni hot pockets product that may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically pieces of glass and hard plastic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced.
The frozen not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) pepperoni hot pockets product was produced from Nov. 13, 2020 through Nov. 16, 2020. The product has a shelf life of 14 months.
54-oz carton packages containing 12 “Nestlé Hot Pockets Brand Sandwiches: Premium Pepperoni Made With pork Chicken & Beef Pizza Garlic Buttery Crust with a Best Before Feb. 2022 date and lot codes 0318544624, 0319544614, 0320544614, and 0321544614.
The product subject to recall bears establishment number “EST. 7721A” inside the USDA mark of inspection. The product was shipped to retail locations nationwide.
The problem was discovered when the firm received four consumer complaints of extraneous material in the pepperoni hot pocket product. The firm has received one report of a minor oral injury associated with consumption of this product. FSIS has received no additional reports of injury or illness from consumption of this product. Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider.
FSIS is concerned that some product may be frozen and in consumers’ freezers. Consumers who have purchased this product are urged not to consume it. This product should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.
Consumers with questions about the recall can contact Nestlé consumer services at (800) 350-5016.
—Jennifer Swartvagher
Featured photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced that Nestlé Prepared Foods is recalling approximately 92,206 pounds of LEAN CUISINE Baked Chicken meal products. The items may be contaminated with extraneous materials––in particular, pieces of white hard plastic.
The recalled product is the 8 5/8-oz. carton trays of LEAN CUISINE Baked Chicken, white meat chicken with stuffing, red skin mashed potatoes and gravy, with a lot code of 0246595911 and “Best Before” date of October 2021. They were produced and packaged on Sept. 2, 2020.
Photo: USDA FSIS
The recalled products have establishment number “EST. P-9018” on the side of the case near the lot number. The issue was discovered on Dec. 18, 2020 after receiving five consumer complaints involving hard white plastic found in the product. It is believed the mashed potatoes had pieces of a plastic conveyor belt that broke during production.
There have been no reports of injury or illness from consumption of these products, but FSIS is concerned that consumers may still have some of the affected meals in their freezers. If you have any of the products, do not consume and either throw them away or return to the place of purchase for a refund.
If you have questions, you can contact Nestlé Prepared Foods, at (800) 993-8625.
