ATLANTA, GA - Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin announced that state inspectors have investigated all 18 Georgia distribution firms that purchased meat products involved in a recent recall and placed 35,910 pounds of implicated products under a “withhold from sale” order.
Agriculture Department inspectors also recovered an estimated 504 pounds of implicated product at 28 retail stores. Those products have either already been picked up by the producer or destroyed.
State inspectors began checking distribution records and food sales firms after the announcement of a voluntary recall of approximately two million pounds of cooked beef, pork and poultry patties produced by Zartic, Inc., of Cedartown, Ga. Zartic and federal authorities reported the patties, which were shipped to 34 states including Georgia, may have been contaminated with salmonella.
“Thankfully we've been able to retrieve all the remaining implicated product and stopped any further sale of it in our grocery stores, or the distribution of it to schools, nursing homes and restaurants,” Irvin said. “Our food safety personnel did a commendable job in tracking down a massive amount of potentially unsafe meat.”
Much of the implicated product was sold through distributors to institutions like school systems, nursing homes and prisons. The Georgia Department of Human Resources is checking prisons, restaurants and other institutions and the Georgia Department of Education is checking school systems for the recalled product.
Agriculture Department inspectors found nearly 2,000 boxes -- 35,910 pounds -- of the recalled product before it could be shipped to supermarkets and other retail outlets, Irvin said. The product will be withheld from sale until Zartic representatives pick up the product and dispose of it under federal supervision.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
P.O. Box 553
Northport, NY 11768
Phone: 631-757-4010
Fax: 631-757-4060
E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com
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