Cantina Foods of New York is recalling 2,375 pounds of ready-to-eat Beef and Cheese Pastellios (empanadas) after the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) discovered the food had not been inspected by government officials. All meat products made in the U.S. must be inspected before being sold.
The stuffed meat and cheese pies were packaged in cartons containing four clear plastic bags that each have six 4-ounce pastellios made with puff pastry. There are no labels or marks of inspection on the cartons or the bags. They were made and sold from October 3, 2012 through November 20, 2012 in the Buffalo, New York area. The pies may have been available for sale from heat trays at convenience stores.
In September 2012, the company had requested to voluntarily suspend its operations after an FSIS assessment identified problems with the facility’s Listeria monocytogenes control program. There have been no reports of illness linked to the consumption of this product. For questions and more information, call the company’s owner, Toumet Koury, at 716-602-3536.
Linda Larsen has written 28 cook books. She worked for the Pillsbury company in their test kitchens and for the Pillsbury Bake-Off. She holds a degree with High Distinction in Food Science from the University of Minnesota.
Fred Pritzker is a food safety advocate and attorney. He represents people sickened by contaminated food.
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