Valdosta firm recalls pork, chicken sausage

Sep. 8—VALDOSTA — A Lowndes County meat processor has recalled almost 4,500 lbs. of pork and chicken smoked sausages because of a contamination issue.

Sunset Farm Foods Inc. issued the recall for 28-oz. vacuum sealed packages of "Georgia Special Chicken and Pork Smoked Sausage" with a sell-by date of Oct. 28, a statement from the Food Safety and Inspection Service said.

The meat may be contaminated with thin blue plastic, the statement said.

The affected goods have an establishment number of "P 9185" inside the USDA inspection mark and were sent to stores in four states — Alabama, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, FSIS said.

The company had received complaints about plastic embedded inside the sausages, according to the statement.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.

Tom Carroll, owner and president of Sunset Farm Foods, said a thorough search had failed to connect the plastic with the company's production process; the firm is reaching out to vendors to see if it might have come in through raw materials, he said.

The amount involved is "perhaps one-tenth of what we might produce on a good day," limited to a single lot with a lot code of 218101, Carroll said.

FSIS is concerned that some of the sausages may be in buyers' refrigerators or freezers. Consumers who have bought these products are urged not to eat them but to throw them away or return them to the place of purchase.

Consumers with questions about the recall can contact Russell Harris, quality assurance manager of Sunset Farm Foods, at 229-242-2952 or by email at R.Harris@sunsetfarmfoods.com.

This is the second product recall of food by a Valdosta-based company in less than a month. In late August, South Georgia Pecan Company recalled packages of Great Value Chopped Walnuts sent to Walmarts in three states when they were found to actually contain pecans.

Terry Richards is the senior reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times.