001042 Tenn. Firm Recalls Hot DogsOctober 18, 2000Washington - A Tennessee company recalled 900,000 pounds of hot dogs and suspended its frankfurter production after tests found the meat may be contaminated with dangerous bacteria. Tests by North Carolina state officials found Listeria monocytogenes in some of the hot dogs, but no illnesses have been linked to the product, said Joe Lay, president of Lay Packing Co. Inc. of Knoxville, Tenn. “We have suspended our operations on making hot dogs until we can determine where the problem is,” he said. Most of the hot dogs subject to the recall probably have already been eaten, but the company expects to get about 300,000 pounds back, Lay said. The hot dogs were distributed in 10 southeastern states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The franks are sold under variety of names: Lay's, Madison, Jubilee, Frosty Morn, Dinner Delights and WD. The products subject to the recall bear the number P-967 or 967. Listeria can cause fever, severe headaches, stiffness, nausea and diarrhea. Healthy people recover quickly, but listeria can cause serious, sometimes fatal, infections in children, the elderly and people with weak immune systems, and is especially dangerous for pregnant women. It can cause miscarriages and stillbirths even if the mother experiences no symptoms. An outbreak of listeria poisoning in 1998 killed 15 people and sickened at least 100 and was traced to meat processed at a Sara Lee Corp. plant in Michigan. The company recalled 15 million pounds of hot dogs and lunch meats, and the U.S. Agriculture Department ordered plants nationwide to revamp their processing methods to prevent listeria contamination.
E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com |
