100,000 Pounds of Tainted Roast Beef Recalled

Recall of about 100,000 pounds of roast beef produced by a Los Angeles firm and sold to restaurants and delicatessens in California, Nevada and Hawaii was announced Friday by the federal Food Service and Inspection Service in Washington.

Nancy Robinson, director of information for the U.S. Department of Agriculture agency, said USDA tests of meat produced by Russak’s Cured and Smoke Products detected the presence of salmonella, a food-poisoning organism, but no illnesses have been reported from eating the firm’s product.

The recalled beef, produced before May 18, was marketed under the label names of “Russak’s Cured and Smoke Products Ready to Eat Roast Beef,” “Grande Meat Company Ready to Eat Roast Beef,” “Jakobellis Roast Beef,” “J and M. Roast Beef,” “Andy Boyd Roast Beef” and “Calbeefco Roast Beef.”

Consumers who have purchased some of the fully cooked beef, sold in restaurants and delicatessens, rather than supermarkets, were advised to return it to the outlet where they bought it.

According to the officials, the recalled beef was shipped in cartons with a code number of 137 or lower and can be identified further by the Establishment No. 6281. No other products produced by Russak’s were affected by the recall.

The FSIS said that Russak’s volunteered to recall its product after salmonella was detected.