Gee thanks – USDA will list retail stores receiving recalled meat and poultry products

On the heels of another 5 million pound ground beef recall, and with over 1000 people sickened and no answers in the salmonella contaminated tomato/pepper/cilantro fiasco, Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer today announced that beginning next month, the USDA will begin listing retail stores receiving meat and poultry products involved in Class I recalls – those of the most serious concern to public health.

The USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) will post on its site a list of retail stores that receive products subject to Class I recalls (only), the highest risk category, generally within three to ten business days of issuing the recall release. Retail stores include supermarkets or other grocery stores, convenience stores, meat markets, wholesale clubs and supercenters. FSIS will not identify distribution centers, institutions or restaurants, since they prepare food for immediate consumption without packaging that is identifiable or available to consumers.

China bans meat imports from three more US producers

China has placed three more U.S. processors on its list of banned importers, according to a USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service report. Until further notice, products produced or stored at Swift Pork Co., Louisville, Ky.; Mountaire Farms, Lumber Bridge, N.C.; and Meadowbrook Farms Cooperative, Rantoul, Ill., are ineligible to export to China, effective immediately. Meat and poultry products produced at other facilities from raw materials originating from these establishments are not eligible for export products to China either.