California Company Recalls Meat Products Because They Illegally Added USDA Mark of Inspection

LQNN of Garden Grove, CA has expanded a recall of meat products  because they were producing meat products without USDA inspection, and worse yet, illegally applied the mark of inspection (the USDA seal) to the product.  The retail arm of the business, Lee's Sandwiches, has an expanding business in the western states.  The founder, Chieu Le, started his business as a food truck and now has over 50 locations. 

 So while the company stands by the wholesomeness of their food, it is awful to think that they jeopardized their business to skirt around USDA regulations.

USDA Recall Notice

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/recalls-and-public-health-alerts/recall-case-archive/archive/2015/recall-081-2015-release

LQNN, Inc. Recalls Poultry, Beef and Pork Products Produced Without the Benefit of Inspection and Misbranded With Unauthorized Use of the USDA Mark of Inspection

Class I Recall 081-2015

Health Risk: High May 20, 2015

En Español

Congressional and Public Affairs   Gabrielle N. Johnston  (202) 720-9113 

EDITORS NOTE: Details of this recall were updated on June 3, 2015 to reflect a change in pounds, products and production dates of recalled products.

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2015 – LQNN, Inc., a Garden Grove, Calif. firm, added additional items to the recalled products list, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The added products should have been part of the original 213,192 pounds of chicken, beef and pork products that were recalled on May 20, 2015. The new total recalled poundage is 465,483 pounds. The products which were moved and sold in commerce, included the unapproved use of another facility’s mark of inspection, which has been identified as Establishment number 18995. LQNN, Inc., operating as Lee’s Sandwiches, has been processing products from federally-inspected establishments and re-packaging them without the benefit of inspection. Products produced without inspection present potential of increased human health risk.

The various poultry, beef and pork items were produced prior to May 26, 2015. The following additional products are subject to recall:

• 2,434-lb of “Sliced Jambon.”
• 1,460-lb of “Sliced Head Cheese.”
• 1,712-lb of “Sliced Pork Roll.”
• 58-lb of “Sliced Cured Pork.”
• 8,033-lb of “Sliced Ham.”
• 2,796-lb of “Roast Beef.”
• 150-lb of “Fully Cooked Grilled Pork.”
• 200-lb of “Fully Cooked Nuong.”
• 1,620-lb of “Fully Cooked Meatball Filling.”
• 90-lb of “Fully Cooked Teriyaki Chicken.”
• 4,080-lb of “Pork & Shrimp Egg Roll.”
• 126-lb of “Steam Pork Bun Filling.”
• 576-lb of “Pork/Shrimp Egg Rolls.”
• 645-lb of “Fully Cooked Baked Pork Pate Chaud (Large).”
• 674-lb of “Fully Baked Chicken Pate Chaud (Large).”

On May 28, 2015, the company recalled an additional 227,731 pounds of chicken, beef and pork products produced prior to May 26, 2015. The following products listed below should have been included in the initial recall:

The various poultry, beef and pork items were produced prior to May 26, 2015. The following additional products are subject to recall:

• 63,734-lb of “Ham & Cheese CROISSANT.”
• 5,218-lb. of “Cooked Dry SHREDDED PORK Cha Bong Thit Heo.”
• 8,631-lb. of “SHREDDED PORK Bi.”

On May 20, 2015, the company recalled 213,192 pounds of chicken, beef and pork products produced prior to May 26, 2015. The following products listed below were included in the initial recall:

The following products are subject to recall and were sent to various restaurant locations in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas to be cooked and served to consumers. The following products may contain “Est. 11041” or “P-11041” inside the USDA mark of inspection:

• 54,509 -lb. of “Banh Bao Pork & Egg Steamed Bun.”
• 15,147 -lb. of “Banh Bao Trung Cut Pork & Quail Egg Steamed Bun Vietnamese Style.”
• 55,114 -lb. of “PORK PATE CHAUD (LARGE).”
• 6,016.5-lb. of “PORK PATE CHAUD (SMALL).”
• 50,036-lb. of “CHICKEN PATE CHAUD (LARGE).”
• 6,184.5-lb. of “CHICKEN PATE CHAUD (SMALL).”

The following products are subject to recall and were sent to the aforementioned restaurant locations in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas to be prepared and served to consumers. The following products may contain “Est. 11041” or “P-11041” inside the USDA mark of inspection:

• 22,812-lb. of “SLICED OIL BROWNED TURKEY PREMIUM BREAST MEAT FULLY COOKED.”
• 2,453.5-lb. of “SLICED SALAMI MEAT with wine FULLY COOKED.”

The following products are subject to recall and were sent to various retail locations in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas for retail distribution to consumers. The following products may contain “Est. 18995” inside the USDA mark of inspection:

• 222.25-lb. of 4-oz. plastic containers of “FRUIT BEEF JERKY (Kho Bo).”
• 352-lb. of 4-oz. plastic containers of “B.B.Q. BEEF JERKY (Kho Bo).”
• 354-lb. of 4-oz. plastic containers of “Curry BEEF JERKY (Kho Bo).”

The problem was discovered by FSIS personnel during a surveillance review. During this review, FSIS personnel observed and detained non-federally inspected products which were produced at the warehouse distributorship and had applied USDA marks of inspection without authorization.

FSIS and the company have received no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about a reaction should contact a healthcare provider.

FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on the FSIS website at www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls.

Consumers and media with questions about the recall can contact Tom Quach, Chief Operating Officer, at (714) 333-8688.

 

Company Statement

 

Important Information about our Voluntary Recall

Published: Monday, June 1st, 2015

http://www.leesandwiches.com/main.php?act=newsdetail&catid=0&id=99

 

A notice to our customers,

 

You may have read or heard about the recent voluntary recall of certain food items from Lee's Sandwiches stores, some of which are confusing and contradictory. Lee's Sandwiches is cooperating fully with the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) regarding our voluntary recall announced this past May 20, into labeling and inspection of meat products distributed by LQNN, Inc., located in Garden Grove, Calif., LQNN distributes food to Lee's locations in Southern California, Arizona, Oregon, Nevada, Oklahoma and Texas.

 

While we are working with the USDA to complete the review of documents at the LQNN facility, we want our friends and customers to know that all meat products sold by all of Lee's Sandwiches' locations come from U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulated and/or USDA-inspected facilities. A few more facts:

1. None of Lee's Sandwiches' 15 locations in Northern California are included in the voluntary recall.
2. There are no known adverse reactions by anyone from food served at any of our 56 locations.

 

We value the trust earned over the past 30 years from our family of customers and will provide updates with any new developments regarding this matter.

 

For more information about this voluntary recall, please visit the USDA's website at www.usda.gov. Go to the search window and enter: Lee's Sandwiches.

 

Thank you.

 

Sincerely,

 

Chieu Le

President and CEO of Lee's Sandwiches