Ivars Ready-to-Eat Meat Soup Products Subject to Public Health Alert
USDA FSIS issued a public health alert for Ivars meat soup products prepared under insanitary conditions. Consumers should not eat these items.
The agency’s classification
USDA FSIS: Public Health Alert
Public Health Alert is a warning FSIS issues when there is a food-safety concern but a recall is not requested, typically because the affected product is no longer available for purchase.
This is the agency’s own classification, taken from its notice. The severity score below is our assessment, not the agency’s. How recall classes work
What this means for you
Our assessment, not the agency’s: severity 3/5 (High).
Real risk of harm even if no illness or injury has been reported yet. Stop using the product and follow the agency's guidance.
Our severity reasoning: The source explicitly states there are no confirmed reports of illness, but the hazard involves high-risk spoilage bacteria in ready-to-eat products that can cause illness in immunocompromised individuals, fitting the 'High' criteria for risk-of-harm products where injury has not yet been reported.
Plain-English summary
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a public health alert for specific ready-to-eat meat soup products from Ivars Commissary. The alert was issued because the products may have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions, leading to premature spoilage. A formal recall was not requested because the products are no longer available for purchase.
The affected products include 48-oz. packages and 20-oz. cups of Ivar’s Puget Sound Clam Chowder with Bacon, Ivar’s Loaded Baked Potato Soup, Ivar’s Rustic Zuppa Toscana Italian Sausage and Vegetable Soup, and Pike Place Fish Market World Famous Clam Chowder with Bacon. These items bear establishment number EST. 20173 and were shipped to retail locations nationwide and exported to Mexico. The issue was identified after the establishment received consumer complaints about bloated packages and subsequent lab testing revealed high levels of spoilage bacteria.
There have been no confirmed reports of illness from consuming these products. However, FSIS notes that consumption of food contaminated with spoilage organisms can cause illness in immunocompromised individuals. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them and should throw them away or return them to the place of purchase.
The recalled product
- Product
- FSIS Issues Public Health Alert for Ready-to-Eat Meat Soup Products Due to Possible Contamination
- Brand
- Ivars Commissary
- Manufacturer
- Ivars Commissary
- Category
- Food — Ready-to-Eat Meat Soup
Distribution
Distributed nationwide across the United States.
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