A temperature deviation becomes a recall issue when RTE cold-chain records do not contain it

On October 17, Kayem Foods recalled about 1,584,361 pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products because of possible temperature abuse during storage. According to the US Food Safety and Inspection Service, the products were made between March 31 and October 7 and distributed to retail and foodservice customers in the United States and Hong Kong. No confirmed illnesses had been reported when the notice was issued.

The event began with a retail customer complaint about warm product at delivery on October 1. The company’s investigation determined that various products had been held in a warehouse cooler that experienced temperature deviations. That sequence makes this more than a transport error: it concerns cold-chain control after production, when ready-to-eat goods will not receive a further heat treatment from the customer.

FSIS classified the recall as Class I. For processors, that classification reinforces that temperature records cannot be stand-alone administrative documents. They must make it possible to reconstruct which product was exposed, for how long, at which location, and which commercial destinations received the lots. Recall effectiveness depends on connecting storage data, traceability and customer communication.