In a concerning turn for meat consumers in the Mid-Atlantic, Impero Foods & Meats, Inc., based in Baltimore, has issued a recall on approximately 7,485 pounds of raw pork sausage products. The US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has classified this recall as Class 1, indicating a serious health hazard that could lead to severe health consequences. Reports from CBS News Baltimore have provided details on the products and the potential risks involved.
The recall was precipitated by a routine FSIS surveillance activity at a retailer, which revealed that products may have been manufactured at a facility with a suspended grant of inspection. Impero Foods & Meats was found to have shipped these potentially unsafe products to restaurants and retailers in Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. The FSIS quickly publicly announced that the products were indeed produced without the federally required inspection and urged that any products be discarded or returned to the point of purchase.
Impero Foods & Meats, Inc., identified in the recall, is known for distributing Italian wholesale foods in East Baltimore. The implicated items, which were distributed between October 3 and December 19, included 10-lb. white cardboard box cases containing a plastic bag of "Old World Italian Sausage" with either "rope" or "link" handwritten on the case. These products bear the establishment number "EST. 10827" inside the USDA mark of inspection. According to Fox Baltimore, no reported illnesses have been associated with these products to date. However, the potential risk necessitates this recall.
For continued updates on recalled products and where they might still be found, FSIS recommends that consumers visit its official website at www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls, as conveyed by CBS News Baltimore.
