MONTEBELLO Calif. Huntington Meat Packing Inc. has greatly expanded a January recall of 864,000 pounds of ground beef products to include an additional 4.9 million pounds of those items and selected veal goods, the U.S. Food Safety & Inspection Service said.
The FSIS said Friday it had received no reports of illness tied to the recalled products, which were shipped to distribution centers, restaurants and hotels in California.
The agency said the recall expansion was prompted by evidence uncovered during an ongoing criminal investigation by the Office of the Inspector General, with assistance from FSIS, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Evidence found during the OIG investigation indicates that the recalled products were not produced in compliance with the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point, or HACCP, plan that Huntington is required by law to formulate and follow, the FSIS said. Because evidence suggests that Huntington's food safety records "cannot be relied upon," FSIS said it must consider the goods in question to be adulterated and act to remove them from commerce.
Acall to Montebello-based Huntington Meat Packing for comment about the expanded recall was not returned by press time.
The recall involves ground beef produced from Jan. 22, 2009, through Jan. 4, 2010, that is packed in 50-pound boxes labeled “Huntington Meats Ground Beef,” “Huntington Meat Pkg. Inc. Beef Ground for Further Processing,” “Beef Burrito Filling Mix, "Huntington Meat Pkg. Inc. Diced Beef," and "Huntington Meat Pkg. Inc. Sliced Beef;" and 20-pound and 10-pound boxes labeled "Imperial Meat Co. Ground Beef Patty;" and 10-pound boxes labeled "El Rancho Meat & Provision All Beef Patties."
Veal products being recalled were produced between Jan. 22, 2009, and Jan. 4, 2010, and are packed in 20-pound and 10-pound boxes labeled "Huntington Meat Veal Patty," "Imperial Meat Veal Patty," and "El Rancho Veal Patty."
Each box of recalled beef and veal has the establishment number "Est. 17967" inside the USDA mark of inspection label. Questions about the recall can be directed to 888-894-8242, FSIS said.
Click here to view the FSIS press release on the recall.
The January recall was based on the possibility that some ground beef from Huntington Meat was contaminated with the dangerous E. coli O157:H7 pathogen. The latest recall, announced late Friday, said the specified goods "are adulterated because the company made the products under unsanitary conditions failing to take the steps it had determined were necessary to produce safe products."
While the products in question are normally sold and used for fresh applications, the FSIS said the recall includes items produced more than a year ago because some of them may be frozen and still in commerce.
Contact Alan J. Liddle at [email protected].