Officials have issued a recall for sausages, sliced meats and poultry products sold in New York state over fears of high sodium nitrite levels. 

The US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced that nearly 19,000 pounds of ready-to-eat meat products manufactured by Smith Packing, LLC are being called back. 

Some of the recalled items include As-Salaam’s Beef Breakfast Sausage, Smith Packing’s Beef Knockwurst, Honest John’s Bratwurst 5/1 and Beefland USA’s Regular Beef Sausage 5/1.

The items were produced on various dates between February 19, 2025, and April 24, 2025.   

The problem was discovered after consumers complained products were off-taste and off-color. 

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to the consumption of these products. 

Federal officials have asked anyone concerned about an illness to contact a healthcare provider. 

Officials have issued a recall for sausages, sliced meats and poultry products sold in New York state over fears of high sodium nitrite levels

In an official statement, the FSIS noted that it was concerned some products may be stored in  refrigerators or freezers and urged customers to throw away or return them to the place of purchase.

Manufacturers tend to add sodium nitrate into frozen meat products for preservation, increase their shelf life and maintain their color. 

However, high levels of sodium nitrite can be toxic to the human body and can cause death. 

Excessive sodium nitrate can make it difficult for red blood cells to bind with oxygen molecules and carry them to various organs – leading to a condition called methemoglobinemia. 

This can severely impact breathing capacity, which can cause a person to collapse and in certain cases, lead to death. 

Toxic levels of sodium nitrate in the body can also cause symptoms like headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. 

Apart from this, high levels of sodium nitrite has also been linked to cause colorectal , blood, ovarian, stomach, esophageal, pancreatic and thyroid cancer. 

Excessive sodium in the body can react with amines (a form of ammonia) and amino acids (broken down proteins) during digestion to form N-nitroso Compounds (NOCs). 

Multiple studies have shown that NOCs are carcinogenic in nature and can damage cell DNA – making them turn toxic. 

This can increase the risk for development of cancer in multiple organs.

Furthermore, the preservative salt can also irritate the eyes, skin, nose and throat when inhaled or soaked up through the skin. 

Pictured: As-Salaam’s Beef Breakfast Sausage

Pictured: The label for Smith Packing’s Beef Knockwurst

According to the CDC, humans should only have a daily intake of sodium nitrate of 3.7 milligrams per kilo of body weight in order to remain healthy. 

For example, a person who weighs 150 pounds or 68kgs should not consume more than 0.25 grams of sodium nitrate per day. 

This comes a day after a recall was issued for a premade salad from Trader Joe’s for an undeclared allergen that could leave millions wheezing and vomiting.

Trader Joe’s has voluntarily recalled a limited quantity of its Trader Joe’s Sesame Miso Salad with Salmon in 18 states after they were found to contain packets of parmesan cheese instead of crispy onions.

The parmesan packets contain milk, which could cause severe reactions in the 30million Americans with lactose intolerance and the seven million with dairy allergies.

The supermarket giant pulled 500 units in Alabama, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

Recalled salads were produced by Taylor Fresh Foods Illinois and had a ‘Use By’ date of either April 28 or April 29, 2025.