The USDA on Saturday announced a recall of more than 1.5 million pounds of Kayem Foods hot dog, sausage and other meat products after the company found they had been stored in a cooler with a temperature deviation. The recall includes Fenway Franks and products shipped to stores and food service locations across the US and in Hong Kong.
Kayem said the affected items were shipped between June 7, 2026, and Oct. 14, 2026, covering 68 products and dozens of pork, beef and chicken items. The USDA said consumers who bought the products should not eat them and should throw them away or return them to the place of purchase.
Matt Monkiewicz on Kayem
Matt Monkiewicz, Kayem Foods president and CEO, said the company was taking the step voluntarily. “Our business depends on providing consumers with safe food of the highest quality,” he said on Friday. “Out of an abundance of caution, we are undertaking this voluntary recall.”
Kayem said the problem was traced to a warehouse cooler in Chelsea that experienced a cooling system malfunction. The company said the meat products were distributed from that warehouse to wholesale and retail customers, and it said it was contacting those customers directly with instructions to identify and dispose of the recalled items.
Oct. 1 complaint
The issue came to light after Kayem received a complaint from a retail store on Oct. 1 about warm product temperatures “at point of delivery,” according to Kraig Naasz. Kayem then determined that various meat and poultry products had been held in the cooler with the temperature deviation.
There have been no reports of illness tied to the products, but the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said it was concerned some recalled items may still be sitting in refrigerators or freezers. That leaves the burden on shoppers and food service operators to check labels, separate any matching products from other food, and follow the disposal or return instructions already sent by Kayem.
US and Hong Kong distribution
The affected goods reached locations across the US and in Hong Kong, so the recall is broader than a single store shelf or a single shipment. Readers comparing packages should look for the recalled Kayem meat items and match them against the products shipped during the June-to-October period, then keep them out of circulation until they are discarded or returned.
For consumers who have already stored similar meat products at home, the practical next step is to check the package against the recall notice and act on the USDA instructions. Kayem’s own response puts the company’s management team on the record: “We take food safety very seriously and apologize to our valued consumers. Our management team takes full responsibility. We have learned from and corrected the issue and will not allow this to happen again,” Monkiewicz said.
