Maker of famous ballpark franks recalls 1.5 million pounds of meat

Before you make a sandwich or put the hot dogs on, check your fridge.

More than 1.5 million pounds of hot dogs, bacon, ham and deli meats have been recalled across the U.S., the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced on Saturday, October 17.

It all started with one complaint. On October 1, a store told the maker its delivery had arrived warm.

The company is Kayem Foods of Chelsea, Massachusetts, the maker of Fenway Franks, the Boston Globe reports.

The exact figure is 1,584,361 pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry, according to the FSIS notice.

A cooler that didn't stay cold

After the complaint, Kayem found it had stored various ready-to-eat products in a warehouse cooler that had temperature deviations, FSIS said.

The company blamed "a cooling system malfunction," according to the Globe.

FSIS rated it a Class I recall, its most serious level. The agency uses it when there's a reasonable probability of serious adverse health consequences or death.

There have been no confirmed reports of illness, the agency said.

Check the label for these numbers

The recalled products were made from March 31, 2026, to October 7, 2026, according to FSIS. Kayem's own statement says they shipped between June 7 and October 14, the Globe reports.

They include hot dogs, bacon, sausage, ham, turkey breast, bologna, kielbasa, corned beef and liverwurst.

Brands include Kayem, Al Fresco, Deutschmacher, Essem, Jordan's, McKenzie, Triple M and Winnisimmet St. Butchery, AARP reports. Some reports also list Genoa.

The surest test is the USDA mark of inspection on the pack. Look for EST. M/P 7839, EST. P 20935A or EST. M 9520 inside it.

The products went to stores and food-service locations nationwide, and to Hong Kong. Walmart says affected products were sold at select stores in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont, according to AARP. Market Basket has posted a recall notice too.

Many hot dogs and hams can be kept in the freezer for a long time, the Globe notes, so recalled packs may still be sitting in home freezers.

'Full responsibility'

"Our business depends on providing consumers with safe food of the highest quality," Kayem president and CEO Matt Monkiewicz said, calling the recall a precaution, according to the Globe.

He apologized to customers and said management "takes full responsibility." Kayem says it is contacting wholesale and retail customers directly with instructions.

FSIS says not to eat the products. "These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase," the notice says.

The full list, with UPC codes, is in the FSIS product list, and the label photos show what each pack looks like. More recalls are posted at fsis.usda.gov/recalls.

Questions go to Kayem customer service on 800-426-6100 or [email protected], or the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline on 888-674-6854.