Chicago Boxed Beef Distributors Inc., a Shorewood, Ill., establishment is recalling approximately 3,200 pounds of raw and ready-to-eat sausage products that were not handled in a manner to prevent cross contamination between raw and ready-to-eat products. In addition, the product label used by the company was not approved by FSIS. The products are considered adulterated because the company could not document that it took the necessary steps to produce safe products and ensure that they were produced under sanitary conditions, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The products subject to recall include 3.6-pound boxes of "Sausage Links & Cooked Sausage Patties," with each box containing 2 unlabeled packages. Each box bears a label with establishment number "EST. 17126" inside the USDA mark of inspection and can be identified by the item code "9004." The establishment is recalling all the products listed above which are currently in commerce. The products subject to recall were sold to a distributor for door-to-door sale in Fla., Ill., Ky., S.C., and Texas.

The problem was discovered through a routine inspection conducted by FSIS in-plant inspection personnel. The routine inspection uncovered evidence to show that the establishment produced the products without a food safety plan (HACCP plan) in place for handling ready-to-eat products and therefore FSIS must consider the products to be adulterated.