FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Boston, MA — March 14, 2008 — Slade Gorton & Co is issuing a voluntary recall of its “ICYBAY” cooked, ready to eat, frozen Langostinos because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as fever, headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria monocytogenes infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

The product retails in one pound, clear plastic package marked with UPC 0-73129-61672-8 on the top and with an expiration date of June 2009 and is distributed under the brand name of “ICYBAY”. The product also was distributed to wholesale accounts, also under the “ICYBAY” brand, in five pound clear plastic packages containing either 70-90 count, 90-125 count or 120-150 count. This recall involves production dates of July 18, 2007 through August 13, 2007 and/or Julian dates of 199 through 232.

The recalled “ICYBAY” cooked langostinos were distributed to retailers in Massachusetts and Maryland, over the course of the past several weeks. The majority of the retail distribution was removed from shelves immediately upon notice of the potential of contamination. The recalled “ICYBAY” cooked langostinos were distributed to wholesalers in Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Consumers who have purchased one pound packages of “ICYBAY” cooked langostinos are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-800-225-1573.

Source: http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/slade03_08.html
Hat tip: Matthew at UsabilityWorks.org
Langostino image courtesy of Virgirm

The danger-beef used in school lunches across the country was also part of the Boston Market Frozen Foods supply chain. According to Nicole, Boston Market Lasagna with Meat Sauce is a five star meal, so I don’t look forward to her reaction when she sees this news.

Boston Market is currently recalling 40,000 cases of potentially harmful lasagna, which is an insane amount of lasagna when you think about it. You could build a house out of that much lasagna.

At this time, consumers with questions can contact the Boston Market Frozen Food Consumer Helpline at 1-800-488-0050. The Boston Market Frozen Meals website is generally static so I’m not sure when they’ll be updating it with recall info.

Update: Products affected by the recall have lot codes: NQ7K04, NQ7K11, NQ7K22, NQ7L13, NQ7M21 and NQ8A24.

I’ll update this post as further information becomes available.

Gorton’s is my favorite brand of non-Costco fish sticks, so it saddens me to say that they’re currently recalling 1,000 cases of fish due to a contamination incident.

The story from the Associated Press is that a woman found pills in the fish fillets. Yes, pills. She and her children are doing fine, but if you live in the Southern United States, you may want to follow these instructions from the Gorton’s website:

Gorton’s is voluntarily recalling specific 11.4 oz. packages of 6 Crispy Battered Fish Fillets, as they may contain foreign material.

The affected Battered Fish Fillet products have a UPC code of 44400 - 15770, a “Best if Used by Date” of April, 2009, and the following manufacturing code that is embossed on the side of the package:

7289G1

For reference, this manufacturing code is indented into the long thin side panel of the box. The product being recalled is only the 11.4 oz. package, containing six Battered Fish Fillets with this specific manufacturing code. No other Gorton’s products are being recalled.

If you have purchased a package of 6 Gorton’s Crispy Battered Fish Fillets with this manufacturing code, we would like to send you a full refund. To obtain your refund, please discard the fillets in the package and send your complete mailing information, along with the empty Fish Fillet package, to the following address:

Gorton’s Recall Center
PO Box 6075
Englewood, NJ 07631-0075

Remember to print your name address, city, state, and zip code clearly, and please also include your telephone number in case we need to contact you for any reason.

Once we receive your empty Fish Fillet package and mailing information, we will send you a refund for both the product and your mailing costs within 2 to 4 weeks.

If you would like to speak with a Gorton’s representative, call 1-800-222-6846 between 8:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

Here’s a list of recent ground beef recalls for those of you that might be freaking out right now:

I give up. After typing of three of the recall info notices I got grossed out and decided that if you want to know about all of the ongoing meat recalls, you should check out the United States Department of Agriculture’s site yourself. It is pretty creepy when you see the crazy sorts of things that are getting into our food supply.

So, if you’d like to go on in your merry, oblivious ways, don’t click the links below. Otherwise, feel free to check out the Food Safety and Inspection Service:

• Open Federal Recall Cases
• 2007 Recall Case Archive

Happy tailgating!