Palmer Foods learned April 24 that certain products produced by its vendor, Smith Packing in Utica, were inedible. Smith immediately shut down production, alerted the USDA and determined the products contained an excessive amount of a curing agent.

In coordination with the USDA, Smith agreed to a recall covering about 18,000 pounds of meat products labeled as Honest John’s, As-Salam and Beefland that may have been affected. Approximately 90% of that product never left the warehouse, and approximately 34 customers were identified who received potentially inedible meats. Palmer is working with those customers to recover and destroy any potentially affected product.

As of today, Tuesday, April 29, all of those customers were contacted, and Smith received no information that any consumers were sickened. Palmer will continue to work with the USDA and follow all applicable guidelines and procedures. Palmer demands and enforces the highest-possible safety practices in all its manufacturing lines, and it’s a credit to our employees and partners that this relatively minor issue was identified and mitigated quickly.

For more information, including lists and labels of affected products, visit the USDA.

Media questions should be directed to Joe Schaeffer, Marketing Director, Palmer Food Services at (585) 603-2033.