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Contact:
Patrick O’Connor
312-573-5510
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Chicago, IL -- February 17, 2006 -- La Preferida, Inc. announced today the voluntary recall of a limited number of its brand-name 15-ounce cans of whole pinto beans as a precautionary measure after a consumer in De Kalb, Ill. reported finding a bird's head in a 15 oz. can of the product.
La Preferida is working closely with federal, state and local health agencies to investigate the incident. Testing is expected to take place next week to determine how and when the object got into the can.
No injury or illness has occurred as a result of the incident. The company has not received any similar reports.
The batch affected by the recall bears the lot number 5348 MF on the lid. The batch was canned on December 14, 2005 and is marked with a "best by" date of 12/14/07. The product was canned on behalf of La Preferida by New Meridian Inc. of Eaton, Indiana. No other batch of La Preferida pinto bean cans is affected by the recall, nor are any other La Preferida products.
"The safety of our customers is paramount to La Preferida," said David Brand, Director of Quality Assurance for La Preferida, Inc. "La Preferida prides itself on a more than 50 year history of quality and safety. We are actively working with New Meridian to review their operations and food safety procedures."
La Preferida initially contacted the De Kalb County Health Department and subsequently coordinated the response to the incident with the Illinois Department of Public Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
"Everyone shares the same goal of ensuring the safety of consumers," said Brand. "We are committed to assisting in the review of this matter in any way we can."
As an initial precaution after receiving the call from the consumer, La Preferida immediately removed all 15 oz. pinto bean cans from the store where the can was purchased. On Friday afternoon, the consumer turned the can over to the De Kalb County Health Department.
"There are still many unanswered questions, but we have decided to err on the side of safety," said Brand. "We await the results of a more detailed analysis to help us ascertain how the object found its way into the can."
La Preferida is working with its distributors to notify points of sale and remove this limited batch of the product from the market.
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