Walmart is recalling Stallings Head Cheese which has been linked to a cluster of Salmonella Uganda illnesses in Louisiana. Stallings, which is based in Houston, issued a recall for 4,700 pounds of the product on January 24 after health officials had discovered the link to the illnesses.
The recalled products are 10-oz. packages of “Richard’s Hog Head Cheese” with the establishment number “EST. 2257” inside the USDA mark of inspection and “sell by” dates “Use by 2 1 2013” or “Use by 3 20 2013″on each package. These products were produced between November 1, 2012, and December 19, 2012 and distributed in Louisiana and Southeastern Texas. Last week, the US Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS) released a list of retailers in Louisiana and Texas that sold the product, but Walmart was not on it.
The FSIS and the Louisiana Office of Public Health have worked together on an investigation of illnesses linked to the the ready to eat pork products. For those who became ill, symptoms of a Salmonella infection, which include fever, abdominal cramps and diarrhea, first developed between October 16 and November 10. No newer illnesses have been recently reported in Louisiana.
Consumers who have this product in their refrigerators, should not eat it. Salmonella can cause serious sometimes fatal injury. Anyone who ate the recalled product and became ill should see a health care provider.
