Kayem Foods, the Chelsea meat company behind Fenway Franks, is recalling about 1,584,361 pounds of hot dogs, bacon, sausages, hams, deli meats and other ready-to-eat products because they may have gotten too warm in storage, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced. The agency rates it a Class I recall, its highest-risk category.
The products were made from about March 31 to October 7, 2026, and shipped to stores and food service customers across the country and to Hong Kong. There have been no confirmed reports of anyone getting sick, the agency said. Because some of the food may still be in home refrigerators, it is urging people not to eat it and to throw it away or return it to the store. Some lots on the recall list carry expiration dates as late as February 2027.
What happened
According to the federal notice, a retail customer complained on October 1 that product was warm when it was delivered. Kayem looked into it and found that a warehouse cooler where it kept ready-to-eat meat and poultry had experienced temperature deviations. The products were distributed from the company’s Chelsea location. The company blamed “a cooling system malfunction,” the Boston Globe reported.
“Our business depends on providing consumers with safe food of the highest quality,” Kayem president and CEO Matt Monkiewicz said in a statement quoted by the Globe. He said the recall was being done “out of an abundance of caution,” apologized to customers and said, “Our management team takes full responsibility.” The company said it is contacting its wholesale and retail customers directly.
How to check what is in your refrigerator
Do not go by the brand on the front of the package alone. Look for the USDA inspection mark, usually on the back or side, and check for one of these establishment numbers:
- EST. M/P 7839
- EST. P 20935A
- EST. M 9520
The full product list gives the UPC codes, lot numbers and dates. Besides Kayem hot dogs, Old Tyme franks, Fenway Franks, bologna, kielbasa, corned beef and bacon, the list includes products sold under other names, among them McKenzie bacon, franks and liverwurst, Deutschmacher ham and liverwurst, Jordan’s, Essem and Ballgame Treat franks, Triple M hams and Winnisimmet St. Butchery bacon, along with a line of chicken sausages and breakfast patties. The agency also posted pictures of the labels.
Questions go to Kayem customer service at 800-426-6100 or [email protected], Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline is 888-674-6854. Anyone worried about an illness should contact a health care provider.
A Chelsea company since 1909
The Monkiewicz family has made Kayem meats in Chelsea since 1909, according to the company, and its name is on the city’s Kayem Park, which is being renovated this fall. The federal notice is posted on the Food Safety and Inspection Service website.