Ham Recall in Eight States as Warning Issued

A New Jersey-based food and beverage company is recalling thousands of pounds of ready-to-eat sliced prosciutto ham produced in Germany after the goods were shipped to eight states without the benefit of an equivalent quality check in the U.S.

The recall by ConSup North America Inc., a firm based in Lincoln Park, New Jersey, was announced by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Wednesday.

The products affected are about 85,984 pounds of ready-to-eat sliced prosciutto ham made on various dates from September 25, 2023, through March 6, 2024. They were shipped to retail locations in eight states where customers would now need to pay close attention to the prosciutto ham in their fridge, including California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

Meat, poultry and egg products made in another country and imported into the U.S. must meet all the safety standards applied to food produced in the nation. While other countries might have different food regulatory systems, they must employ equivalent sanitary measures to guarantee the same level of protection against food hazards that's achieved by the U.S. domestic system. This is a process that the USDA calls "equivalence" and is overseen by the FSIS.

The lack of an equivalent inspection on the ready-to-eat sliced ham prosciutto imported from Germany was spotted by the European country's Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety. The agency notified the FSIS that the company making the products, H. Klümper GmbH & Co. KG, had produced part of the identified lots without the benefit of equivalent inspection, but still exported them to the U.S. for distribution.

The products impacted are: 5.29-oz. plastic packages containing "Stockmeyer PROSCIUTTO Product of GERMANY" with lot codes 09118-3A, 09118-3B, 09120-3A, 09120-3B, 13133-3A, 13133-3B, 13104-3A, 13104-3B, 13105-3A, 13105-3B, 13109-3A and 13109-3B and "BEST BEFORE:" dates of 4/28/2024, 5/26/2024, 7/7/2024, 8/4/2024, 8/11/2024 and 10/7/2024.

There have been no reports of adverse reactions upon consuming the products affected by the recall, but the USDA invites anyone who may be concerned about a reaction to contact a healthcare provider.

Consumers who may have the products impacted by the recall in their fridge are urged by the U.S. federal agency not to consume them. The ham should either be thrown away or returned to where consumers bought it from.

Any question about this recall can be directed to the distributing company by calling Luann Servidio, Director of Imports at ConSup North America Inc., at 973-628-7330 or L.Servidio@consup.us.

According to 2022 data from the USDA, the average American consumes 224.6 pounds of red meat and poultry on average per capita retail weight basis every year, including beef, pork, broilers, turkey and chicken.