Food Safety and Inspection Service : Crescent City Meats Recalls Ready-To-Eat Tasso Ham Products due to Underprocessing

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5, 2018 - Crescent City Meats, a Metairie, La., establishment, is recalling approximately 430 pounds of Ready-to-Eat (RTE) Tasso Cajun Spicy Ham products because the RTE product may be underprocessed, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The products were produced on Nov. 9, Dec. 18, and Dec. 20, 2017. The following products are subject to recall: [View Label (PDF only)]

• 5-lb vacuum packs that were shipped in 10-lb. cases with the product labeled 'TASSO CAJUN SPICY HAM READY TO EAT.' The cases contain lot codes 1631317, 1635517, and 1635217 or 35217.

The products subject to recall bear the establishment number 'Est. 13244' inside the USDA mark of inspection. The items were distributed for institutional use in the New Orleans metropolitan area.

The problem was discovered on Jan. 4, 2018, when another federal establishment who was further processing the product noticed that the RTE product appeared to be raw. Upon investigation, FSIS Inspection Program Personnel verified that some of the RTE product was underprocessed and could be undercooked.

FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on the FSIS website at www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls.

Consumers and media with questions about the recall can contact Gerard B. Hanford, President, Crescent City Meat Company at [phone].

Consumers with food safety questions can 'Ask Karen,' the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov or via smartphone at m.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 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day. The online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/reportproblem.