7 mn pounds of hot dogs recalled over bone fragments

New York meat processor Marathon Enterprises has announced a recall of over 7 million pounds of hot dogs and sausages mostly under the Sabrett brand name after consumers complained about finding small pieces of bone in some of the products, the US Department of Agriculture said on Saturday.

In one case, a person who ate one of the hot dogs suffered a "minor oral injury," the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service said in a statement.

That was the only reported incident of injury or illness connected with the products, produced by Marathon Enterprises Inc's meat-processing plant in New York's Bronx borough.

The products were sold nationwide to retailers and institutions, mostly under the Sabrett brand name, the USDA said.

"As a fourth-generation, family-owned company, Sabrett takes its responsibility to provide safe foods very seriously with a robust internal food safety program," Marathon said in a statement posted on its website.

"Sabrett deeply regrets any concern or inconvenience this has caused its loyal customers."

Sabrett hot dogs had become a fixture of the New York City area for decades, sold by street-corner vendors from pushcarts that carried blue and yellow umbrellas.

Last week, consumers reported to the USDA that they had found small pieces of bone and cartilage in the meat.

Meanwhile, USDA said in a news release: Marathon Enterprises Inc, a Bronx, NY establishment, was recalling approximately 7,196,084 pounds of hot dog products that might be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically bone fragments, the US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The beef and pork hot dog and sausage items were produced on various dates between 17 March, 2017 and 4 July, 2017. A number of products are subject to recall.

The products subject to recall bear establishment number ''EST. 8854'' inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to retail and institutional locations nationwide.