Major Meat Recall: Idaho Families Urged to Check Their Refrigerators
If you’ve got bacon, hot dogs, chicken sausage or deli meats in your refrigerator, you might want to take a minute to check the packaging.
The USDA has announced a nationwide recall involving approximately 1.58 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products, including several familiar brands.
One of those brands immediately caught my attention.
My family has been buying Al Fresco chicken sausages for years. They’re delicious, and we originally started buying them because they’re gluten-free. One of my daughters has severe celiac disease, so finding good gluten-free products has always been important in our family.
Even though she doesn’t live here anymore, we still buy Al Fresco sausages simply because we really like them.
So when I saw the brand included in this recall, I figured it was worth passing along a heads-up to other families here in Boise, Meridian, Nampa and throughout the Treasure Valley.
What Meat Products Are Being Recalled?
According to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, Massachusetts-based Kayem Foods is recalling approximately 1,584,361 pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products.
The recall includes various products sold under brands such as:
- Kayem
- Al Fresco
- McKenzie
- Triple M
- Deutschmacher
- Jordan’s
- Essem
- Winnisimmet St. Butchery
Affected products include chicken sausages, breakfast sausage, hot dogs, bacon, ham, turkey breast and other deli meats.
The products were produced between March 31 and October 7, 2026, and distributed to retailers and food-service businesses nationwide.
Why Are These Meats Being Recalled?
The recall was initiated after a customer reported receiving products that were warmer than expected.
An investigation revealed that a warehouse cooling system had experienced temperature problems, potentially allowing some products to be stored at unsafe temperatures.
The USDA has classified this as a Class I recall, its highest-risk category.
The good news is that no illnesses associated with these products had been reported when the recall was announced.
What Should Idaho Shoppers Look For?
Not every product from these brands is affected, so checking the packaging is important.
Recalled products may carry one of these establishment numbers inside the USDA inspection mark:
EST. M/P 7839
EST. P 20935A
EST. M 9520
You’ll also want to compare the product name, UPC, lot number and expiration date with the USDA’s official recall list.
If you discover that you have one of the recalled products, don’t eat it. The USDA recommends throwing it away or returning it to the store where it was purchased.
And don’t forget to check the freezer, too!
You can find the complete list of recalled products, including packaging photos and identifying information, through the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.
Hopefully, everything in your refrigerator is perfectly fine. But considering how many products are involved, taking a couple of minutes to check is probably a pretty good idea.
I know I’ll be checking ours!
LOOK: The 10 largest product recalls of the last decade
Gallery Credit: Beth Mowbray
