Congressional and Public Affairs
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Roger Sockman

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2008 – Dawn International, an Acton, Mass., establishment, is recalling approximately 33,880 pounds of fresh pork products that may be contaminated with dioxins, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.

FSIS was notified by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) that routine surveillance tests indicated the presence of dioxin in pork products that were sent to multiple importers of record in the United States. FSIS believes the probability of adverse health effects related to consumption of these pork products to be low, and concurs with the conclusions of a risk assessment conducted by FSAI.

The products subject to recall include: [View Labels] 30-pound cartons of "DAWN PORK & BACON, PORK LOIN BACK RIBS, PRODUCT OF REPUBLIC OF IRELAND." The shipping label bears the Irish mark of inspection "IRELAND 332 EC."
The pork products were produced in Ireland between Sept. 1 and Dec. 7, 2008, and were then exported to the United States. These products were shipped to distribution centers in Florida.

Consumers and media with questions about the recall should contact the Irish Embassy representative Dr. Clare Thorp at (202) 716-2369.

Consumers with food safety questions can "Ask Karen," the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov. The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from l0 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day.