By JANE HOUIN
Ohio Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Beginning next month, USDA will start listing retail stores receiving meat and poultry products involved in Class I recalls - those of the most serious concern to public health.
Currently, in some recall cases, consumers do not have the specific product information available that would be useful in identifying recalled products that may still be in their home.

“The identity of retail stores with recalled meat and poultry from their suppliers has always been a missing piece of information for the public during a recall,” said USDA Secretary Ed Schafer. “People want to know if they need to be on the lookout for recalled meat and poultry from their local store and by providing lists of retail outlets during recalls, USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service will improve public health protection by better informing consumers.”
USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) will post on  (www.fsis.usda.gov) a list of retail stores that receive products subject to Class I recalls, the highest risk category, generally within three to ten business days of issuing the recall release. A Class I recall is one that involves a reasonable probability of serious health consequences or death for those with weakened immune systems.
Retail stores include supermarkets or other grocery stores, convenience stores, meat markets, wholesale clubs and supercenters. FSIS will not identify distribution centers, institutions or restaurants, since they prepare food for immediate consumption without packaging that is identifiable or available to consumers.
During the recall process, FSIS personnel verify that the recalling firm has been diligent and successful in notifying its customers of the need to retrieve and control recalled products and that the customers have responded accordingly.

During the recall effectiveness checks, FSIS compiles a list of subsequent recipients as the recalled products are traced through each level of distribution to the retail level. The list of retail stores and locations compiled by FSIS personnel during this process will be posted on the FSIS website and shared with State and local public health officials where the retail stores are located.

Recall announcements from FSIS always include the name of the establishment recalling the meat or poultry, the reason for the recall, a description of the recalled product, any identifying product codes, the recall classification and contact information at FSIS and the company involved. The additional information releasing the names of retail stores receiving recalled meat and poultry will improve the consumers’ ability to identify and discard or return the products they may have purchased and may still have in their home by checking the list of stores and locations.

In addition to Class I recalls, which are affected by this new policy, there are two additional classes of recalls as well as a market withdrawal and safety alert classification.

Class II recalls involve situations in which use of or exposure to a volatile product may cause temporary or medically reversible health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote. IN class III recalls, the use of or exposure to the product is unlikely to cause adverse health consequences.
Less serious than the three levels of recalls are market withdrawals, where a product has a minor violation that would not be subject to legal action by the FDA. In these situations, a company removes the product from the market or corrects the violation. An example of this would be if a product was removed from the market due to tampering without evidence of manufacturing or distribution problems.

The final classification is a medical devise safety alert, which is issued in situations where a medical device may present an unreasonable risk of substantial harm. In some cases, these alerts are also considered recalls.

The new retail store listings for poultry and meat do not affect these other classifications in removing a product from the market. Only retail stores with Class I violations will be listed.