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Price Chopper recalls store-brand beef patties

By ALAN WECHSLER, Business writer  
Monday, May 12, 2008

ROTTERDAM -- Price Chopper has issued a voluntary recall of its store-brand ground-beef patties, as part of a precautionary recall announced by Fairbank Farms of Ashville, Chautauqua County. The supermarket is recalling its four-pack and eight-pack of 80 percent lean ground chuck and 85 percent lean ground round patties. Also recalled are four-packs of 90 percent lean ground sirloin patties. The meats have a bottom-of-the-package sell-by date of May 13.
     
The recall is being conducted because the product may contain small pieces of hard plastic, according to Price Chopper.
Mona Golub, a spokeswoman for the Rotterdam-based company, said the product had been packaged by Fairbank Farms and shipped to grocery stores starting last Wednesday. A total of 329 cases of the meat had been distributed to the company's 116 stores, she said.
"This is a small percentage of the ground beef that we sell," she said.
Price Chopper first heard from a customer Saturday night who found a piece of Plexiglas-like plastic shard in a burger. Two more customers called the company Sunday, she said. There were no injuries.
In addition to pulling the product from its meat cases, Price Chopper has activated its Smart Reply phone program, which notifies customers within a given household who may have purchased the item with the grocer's AdvantEdge card.
Company officials said they expected a large percentage of those who had purchased the meat used the card, making it easy to warn most buyers. The recorded warning went out Monday, she said.
"This is getting the information to the people who need it most," she said.
Additional information about the recall is available at Price Chopper's Web site, http://www.pricechopper.com, and the Fairbank Farms consumer line, (800) 724-1136.
The farm is a meat processor, not an actual cattle farm.
Golub said Price Chopper will investigate the matter further.
"Any time food safety is in question, we review our relationship with a vendor," she said.