Largest meat recall results in related food recalls

Tracking down products that contain some of the recently recalled 143 million pounds of beef has not been an easy matter. The meat was used in a wide variety of packaged foods and we’re gradually learning which ones. As food companies comb through records of suppliers, some are finding that the Westland/Hallmark beef that was recalled on February 17 was used in one or more of their products, and they’re doing the right thing: pulling the food from store shelves.

General Mills has traced the beef in 35,000 cases of Progresso Italian Wedding Soup to Westland; Nestle has found it was used in Hot Pockets Philly Steak & Cheese and Croissant Crust Philly Steak & Cheese; and ConAgra is pulling certain lots of Slim Jims, Pemmican Tender Beef Jerky, Hunt’s Meat-Flavored spaghetti sauce, Hunt's ManWich Original Sloppy Joe sauce and Banquet Macaroni and Beef. Heinz has issued a recall of 40,000 cases of Boston Market Lasagna with Meat Sauce.

It’s important to note that, in each case, the Westland beef made up only a small portion of the ingredients and was often used in producing the food for just a few days. ConAgra, for example, e-mailed us that, “a tiny amount of Pemmican is impacted: only 0.00017 percent of total cases sold of all Pemmican for 2007 contains beef sourced from Westland/Hallmark.” And Nestle wrote in an e-mail that the recalled beef represents just “two days of production on one line in one facility.”

The recalls are labeled by the federal government as Class II—meaning there’s a remote probability of adverse health consequences from eating the food. The producers are asking retailers to pull the products from their shelves. Consumers who have purchased the processed food may opt to discard it. Each company said that consumers with concerns about products containing the meat can call their respective toll-free numbers for more information. General Mills’ (Progresso) number is (800) 200-9377; Nestle’s (Hot Pockets) is (800) 350-5016; ConAgra's (Hunt's, Banquet, Pemmican, Slim Jim) number is (800) 858-6372. And Heinz's Boston Market queries should go to (800) 488-0050.

We expect that as time goes on other manufacturers will similarly trace ingredients in their products to the recalled beef, and more items will be removed from stores. Unfortunately, because the original recall was so large and the meat distributed so widely, this process may take a while.

Comments

[Elaine Robinson]

Immediately after finishing a Jenny Craig "meatloaf with barbecue sauce" frozen meal, I turned on the evening news broadcast and learned that these particular J.C. meals contained the Westland-Hallmark beef, and that, specifically the meal I had just consumed was one of the recalled items (by serial number). A call to Jenny Craig resulted in the following comments: How do you feel? Would you like a free replacement?

There was no information about what I was to do for my own safety. A call to my local (San Diego) Environmental Protection (food products) did not get a return call.

A follow-up call from Jenny Craig headquarters the following day explained that a sign had been posted for two weeks and then removed. I had purchased mine a month previously and had not been back. No one from Jenny Craig had made ANY attempt to notify customers by phone, even though they keep records of all customers.

[Cheryl]

It's times like these that make feel just a tiny bit smug (though I KNOW it's wrong) about not eating beef. I quit seven years ago because of the cruelty this industry practices and though I missed having that occasional steak dinner, I got over it. The beef industry tortures animals, destroys the environment, and it would appear as though they don't give a damn about humans either.