Back on March 28, Rich Products Corporation issued a recall for Farm Rich-branded products such as Mini Quesadillas, Mini Pizza Slices, Philly Cheese Steaks, and Mozzarella Bites. The recall was issued over concerns that the food could be contaminated with E. Coli, and included nearly 200,000 pounds of frozen food made between November 12, 2012 and November 19, 2012. Rich Products stated that it would continue to work with the Food Safety and Inspection Service.
This week, the recall has been expanded to include over 10.5 million pounds of frozen snacks.
Rich Products has voluntarily recalled all products produced at its Waycross, Georgia plant with “Best by” dates from january 1, 2013 to September 29, 2014. The recall includes all sizes of Farm Rich-branded Mini Quesadillas, Mini Pizza Slices, Mozzarella Bites, Mini Bacon Cheeseburgers, and Philly Cheese Steaks. Other products from Farm Rich, such as Mozzarella Sticks and Stuffed Pretzel Bites, are made in separate plants and are not part of the recall.
The recall was expanded when the source of the contamination could not be determined. Farm Rich called this “unacceptable” and voluntarily recalled everything made in the Georgia plant.
“It saddens us deeply that anyone has become ill after consuming Farm Rich products,” said Bill Gisel, CEO of Farm Rich. “When it became apparent to us that despite the expertise of the USDA, FDA, the scientific community and our own experts, that identification of a specific cause was not going to be a simple or short process, we decided to act proactively to expand the recall.”
No reports of sickness due to the products have been reported. Farm Rich has stated that customers can call the company’s customer relations helpline to receive a refund or replacement of the potentially-contaminated products they have had to throw out.