The Iowa-based firm discovered the problem in 5-oz. cans of Armour Vienna Sausage Bourbon BBQ Flavored (24 per case) and recalled 90,975 pounds of the product.
The product was produced on 7 September 2012 and sold to retail establishments nationwide but no illnesses have been reported as yet.
'Miscalculation'
Pinnacle Foods said it believes the problem occurred as a result of processing time miscalculations that caused the product to be undercooked during the production process.
The USDA (US Department of Agriculture (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced the recall this week and said it has received no reports of illnesses due to consumption of these products.
USDA said the recall is Class I which means: “This is a health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.”
Each can bears the establishment number "P-4247" inside the USDA mark of inspection, a UPC Code of “54100 93824” and a Use By date of 7 September 2015.
Pinnacle Foods did not respond to a FoodQualityNews.com request for comment before publication.
OSHA citation
The news follows the firm being cited by the US Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) earlier this year.
OSHA proposed fines of $156,700 after finding 27 serious safety and health violations, including exposing workers to inhaling ammonia at their Fayetteville, Arkansas site.
At the time, a spokesperson said: "Pinnacle Foods is dedicated to the safety of our employees and producing safe, high-quality products for our consumers."