Check your fridge before your next sandwich. Kayem Foods Inc. is recalling approximately 1,584,361 pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry after a warehouse cooler malfunction may have left products at unsafe temperatures. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service classified this as a Class I recall — meaning there’s a reasonable probability that eating affected products could cause serious health consequences. No confirmed illnesses have been reported, but FSIS is treating the situation as high priority regardless.
A Broken Cooler, Months of Exposure
A single customer complaint on October 1 unraveled a storage problem spanning months of production and distribution.
The chain of events started simply: a retail customer complained that products arrived warm. An investigation confirmed temperature deviations inside a Kayem warehouse cooler — what food-safety regulators call “possible temperature abuse,” a term referring to food potentially sitting outside safe refrigeration ranges. Affected products were made between approximately March 31 and October 7, 2026, while Kayem reported that storage and shipping occurred between June 7 and October 14. Kayem President and CEO Matt Monkiewicz apologized publicly, and the company says it has corrected the issue.
“Our management team takes full responsibility.” — Matt Monkiewicz, President and CEO, Kayem Foods Inc.
What’s Included in the Recall
The recall spans eight brand names, more than a dozen product categories, and distribution points across the United States and Hong Kong.
- Brands: Kayem, Al Fresco, McKenzie, Triple M, Deutschmacher, Jordan’s, Essem, and Winnisimmet St. Butchery
- Products: hot dogs, bacon, deli ham, ham steaks, turkey breast, sausages, kielbasa, chicken meatballs, bologna, liverwurst, corned beef, and brisket
- How to identify: look for establishment numbers EST. M/P 7839, EST. P 20935A, or EST. M 9520 inside the USDA mark of inspection on the packaging
- Distribution: retail and food-service locations nationwide, plus Hong Kong
- Total volume: approximately 1,584,361 pounds
What to Do Right Now
FSIS advises consumers to discard or return affected products — not taste-test them — and to verify purchases against the official recall list.
Don’t rely on the brand name alone. Check your packaging against the full FSIS recall list using UPC codes, lot numbers, and the establishment number printed inside the USDA inspection mark. Do not taste-test anything to assess safety. Discard recalled products or return them to the place of purchase. As a precaution, keep suspect packages away from other food while handling them, and wash your hands and any surfaces that contacted the packaging.
The recall is voluntary and precautionary — Kayem says it acted out of an abundance of caution — but FSIS’s Class I classification signals that regulators are taking it seriously. The reason matters: ready-to-eat meat is intended to be eaten without additional cooking, so there’s no reheating step to reduce potential risk. That distinction is precisely why Class I status applies here.
Recalled products were distributed across a production window stretching roughly six months, which means items purchased weeks ago and stored in a chest freezer may also be affected. Check your pantry and freezer, not just your refrigerator.
For questions, contact Kayem customer service at 800-426-6100 or info@kayem.com. The complete product list, including UPC codes and label images, is available through the FSIS recall notice. When in doubt, throw it out.
