Restaurants and food-service kitchens across California are being told to check their freezers after Fontanini Foods LLC recalled roughly 2,320 pounds of raw, frozen pork breakfast sausage that may contain clear, hard plastic. The recall, triggered by two customer complaints, covers product shipped for use in restaurants and other food-service establishments, and no illnesses or injuries have been reported so far.
The Illinois-based company is voluntarily pulling 232 cases, or 2,320 total pounds, of pork sausage links after the discovery, according to a statement from Hormel Foods, Fontanini's parent company. The affected sausage was produced June 23, 2026, and shipped in 10-pound cardboard boxes labeled Fontanini Pork Sausage Links, with item number 82339 printed on the box and a packing date of 06/23/2026 on the shipping label, per the same account. Each box also carries establishment number 6944 inside the USDA mark of inspection.
How the Plastic Was Found
The problem surfaced after Fontanini received two customer complaints describing clear, hard plastic turning up in the sausage, the report notes. Those complaints led directly to the recall, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has classified it as Class I, its most serious designation, meaning the agency says the product presents a reasonable probability of serious adverse health consequences or death. As of the recall announcement, no confirmed reports of injuries or adverse reactions tied to the product had been received, and no other Fontanini products are affected.
The recalled sausage was shipped to distributors in California, Florida, Michigan and Nevada for use in food-service establishments, including restaurants, according to a report from Provisioner Online. Hormel Foods, however, describes the distribution more broadly, saying the product was sent to foodservice operators throughout the United States — a discrepancy the two accounts have not reconciled. As the Sacramento Bee reported, the recall directly touches California restaurants that may still have the sausage sitting in walk-in freezers.
What Restaurants and Kitchens Should Do Now
The USDA has not identified specific retail locations that received the recalled sausage, but the agency says some product may still be sitting in food-service and restaurant freezers. Food-service establishments and restaurants are urged not to serve the recalled sausage and should check their freezers to make sure it isn't served to customers, according to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Anyone with the recalled sausage should either throw it away or return it to the place of purchase, per USDA guidance.
The agency also says it plans to post a distribution list on its website. Restaurants or distributors with questions can contact Fontanini Foods through [email protected], while consumers with food safety questions can reach the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-674-6854 or by email at [email protected]. The USDA's Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System is also available around the clock for reporting problems with recalled products.
