More than 3,000 pounds of Nicks Famous Bar B-Q smoked pork recalled over listeria concern
Got any Nicks Famous Bar-B-Q smoked pork in your freezer?
You might want to hold off on that taste treat and keep reading.
Nicks Famous Bar-B-Q, a Nashville, Tennessee business that sells smoked meats and sauces and distributes to stores like Walmart and Kroger, Piggly Wiggly and schools, has recalled about 3,140 pounds of ready-to-eat smoked pork barbecue products because of possible listeria monocytogenes contamination, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Friday.
What to look for
The frozen ready-to-eat hickory smoked pork barbecue products were produced on Sept. 7-8 and packaged on the 8th. The following product is subject to recall:
▪ Nicks FAMOUS Hickory Smoked Pork Bar-B-Q in 20-pound boxes with a case code of 23452 and a use-by date of 09/2022 and the establishment number “EST. 17863” inside the USDA mark of inspection.
These recalled items were distributed to institutions, including school locations in North Carolina, according to the USDA.
The USDA also added that “while the product was distributed to schools, it resulted from a commercial sale and was not part of food provided by the USDA for the National School Lunch Program.”
The problem was discovered by the Food Safety and Inspection Service during an assessment of Nicks’ production records.
Why listeria is a problem
Listeria monocytogenes can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Healthy people may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, but the infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women, the recall alert noted.
According to the CDC, an estimated 1,600 people get listeriosis each year, and about 260 die.
What you should do
There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these recalled smoked pork boxes to date, the USDA said in its alert. Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider.
But the food safety group is concerned that some of these boxes may be in institutions’ freezers. If so, throw them away or return them to the place of purchase for a refund.
Have questions regarding the recall? Contact Nicks Famous co-owners Patrick Lewis at patrick.lewis@nicksfamousbarbq.com or Rich Dupont at rich.dupont@nicksfamousbarbq.com.
Consumers with food safety questions can call a toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-674-6854 or live chat via Ask USDA from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Monday-Friday.
This story was originally published October 9, 2021 at 4:41 PM with the headline "More than 3,000 pounds of Nicks Famous Bar B-Q smoked pork recalled over listeria concern."
