By St. Paul’s News Team
October 11 2026 | Regional
GraceKennedy Foods has moved to clarify a recent food safety alert issued by United States authorities concerning Jamaica-manufactured Grace chicken Vienna sausages that entered the U.S. market outside the company’s authorised distribution channels.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued the public health alert on October 6 for 140-gram cans of Grace Ready to Eat Chicken Vienna Sausages and Grace Ready to Eat Chicken Vienna Sausages Hot & Spicy.
The affected products bear the establishment number “EST. NO G-01” inside the Jamaica mark of inspection and were distributed to retail outlets in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland and Texas.
According to FSIS, Jamaica is not currently eligible to export meat or poultry products to the United States. The agency said it identified the issue during routine surveillance of imported products and is investigating how the sausages entered the U.S. market.
No illnesses or injuries have been reported in connection with the products.
However, FSIS is advising consumers who purchased the affected sausages not to consume them and to either discard the products or return them to the place of purchase. Consumers who believe they may have become ill or injured after consuming the products are advised to contact a healthcare provider.
In a statement responding to the alert, GraceKennedy Foods stressed that it does not export Jamaica-manufactured Grace chicken Vienna sausages to the United States and has not authorised any individual or company to do so on its behalf.
GraceKennedy also sought to distinguish the products identified in the FSIS alert from Grace Vienna sausages officially distributed in the United States.
The company said its products intended for the U.S. market are manufactured at facilities that comply with USDA requirements.
GraceKennedy added that its Jamaican meat-processing facility, where the chicken Vienna sausages are manufactured, is FSSC 22000 certified and exports products to approved markets throughout the Caribbean in accordance with the regulatory requirements of those countries.
The company further stated that the USDA alert relates to the unauthorised entry of the products into the United States, rather than the identification of a specific contamination or food-safety defect.
Despite that distinction, FSIS is maintaining its advisory that consumers should not eat the affected products.
The agency has released images of the labels associated with the products covered by the alert to help consumers identify them.
The investigation into how the products entered the United States remains ongoing.
