Local retailers respond to beef recall

[ Originally published on: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 ]

GREENFIELD -- A recall of meat distributed by Fairbank Farms of Ashville, N.Y., affects products sold at two area retailers.

Meat products supplied to Trader Joe's in Hadley and BJ's Wholesale Club on Colrain Road by Fairbank Farms are affected by the recall.

This is the third voluntary recall that Fairbank Farms has been involved in since September 2007, according to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Maria Fruci, a spokesperson for BJ's, said that their corporate offices received notice late on Friday that meat from Fairbank was being recalled.

Because BJ's is a membership-based retailer, Fruci said, purchases made by its members can be tracked and those who purchased the products affected by the recall can be identified.

Members who purchased any of the affected products will be contacted directly, Fruci said.

Alison Mochizuki, spokesperson for Trader Joe's grocery stores, said that Trader Joe's inventory of meat affected by the recall represented less than 1 percent of the over 544,000 pounds of meat recalled by Fairbank Farms.

''We have received no reports of illness related to meat sold in our stores to date,'' Mochizuki said.

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