The company said a review of vendor records revealed the affected products were Hot Pockets brand Philly Steak and Cheese in three different pack sizes and the Croissant Crust Philly Steak and Cheese products in the two-pack box.
‘While Nestlé did not purchase meat directly from Rancho, our procurement teams worked with our supply chain to understand whether any company in this chain may have purchased meat from Rancho Feeding at any time during 2013, the period of time covered by the Rancho Feeding recall,” Nestlé said in a news release. “From this review, we have confirmed that a small quantity of meat from Rancho was used at Nestlé’s Chatsworth, Calif. production operation, a facility devoted entirely to Hot Pockets brand sandwiches. The affected batches of the two varieties in our range of Hot Pockets brand sandwiches are being removed from the marketplace.”
Now, nearly 1,000 retailers have been affected by the recall, which encompasses nearly a year of beef processing atRancho Feeding. The Petaluma, Calif.-based beef processor recently recalled approximately 8,742,700 lbs. of meat products that were processed from diseased and "unsound" animals without federal inspection. The US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said no illnesses have been reported in connection with the products. FSIS has been investigating Rancho Feeding on concerns the company has been producing meat products without federal inspection.
FSIS publisheda list of 995 retailers impacted the recall. The agency re-issued a recall release after discovering the recalled product was shipped to distribution centers and retail establishments. Most of the establishments are in California, while the others are in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington.
Tillamook Country Smoker, Bay City, Ore., initiated its own recall of beef jerky products because it used recalled beef products. The Tillamook recall prompted Canadian businesses Crown Star Food Distributors Ltd. and Wallace & Carey Ltd. to recall various Tillamook County Smoker brand beef jerky products.
