Possible Listeria Contamination Prompts Sausage Recall

The following sausage product is subject to recall:

Various sizes of Krakow sausage wrapped in unmarked butcher paper with no label. The products were custom wrapped at the establishment's retail operation. Packages do not bear the establishment number or USDA mark of inspection.

The sausage products were produced on Dec. 18, 2008, and sold at the establishment's retail counter in the St. Louis, Mo. Consumers may have purchased these sausage products on Dec. 18 and 19, 2008.

The problem was discovered through FSIS routine microbiological testing. FSIS has received no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of this product.

Consumption of food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease. Healthy people rarely contract listeriosis. However, listeriosis can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. Listeriosis can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths, as well as serious and sometimes fatal infections in those with weakened immune systems, such as infants, the elderly and persons with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy.

Consumers and media with questions about the recall should contact company Owner-Operator Ted Piekutowski at (314) 534-6256.

Consumers with food safety questions can "Ask Karen," the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov. The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from l0 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day.

Source: By FSIS
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_052_2008_Release/index.asp