BOSTON —
The state is testing 4,400 turkey lunches that were the subject of a precautionary recall earlier this week. The meals, from Canton-based Bateman Catering, were supposed to be lunch for seniors who attend hot lunch programs throughout southeastern Massachusetts.
But they were recalled Wednesday after a senior center volunteer in Marshfield reported that the meals “had a strange odor to them and contained what appeared to be a substance of some sort that looked like mold,” said Suzanne Condon, director of the bureau of environmental health within the state Department of Public Health. A senior lunch volunteer in New Bedford made a similar report about the meals to the state Office of Elder Affairs Wednesday.
But Condon said it is unlikely the meals had mold on them since the time between when they were made and delivered wasn’t long enough for mold to grow.
Bateman Catering supplies thousands of meals each weekday to five elder agencies from Foxboro to Cape Cod. One of those agencies, Old Colony Elder Services of Brockton, serves seniors in 23 communities, including Plymouth and Kingston.
Condon said the state has received reports on two people who ate the meals, one of whom developed diarrhea, the other who reported going to a doctor. It is unclear what the second person’s symptoms were, Condon said, or whether the turkey meals were to blame.
Diana DiGiorgi, director of Old Colony Elder Services, said two people served by that agency developed diarrhea but it wasn’t clear whether they had eaten the meals.
Bateman said in a statement, “Our quality assurance team is working with the state department of public health to ascertain whether there is an issue with the meal.”
The company has a clean inspection record, Canton’s director of public health John Ciccotelli said.
He said town health records show no cases of contaminated food provided by Bateman, and added that he is not aware of any previous food recalls.
“We have had complaints about temperatures in the past,” Ciccotelli said. But, he added, records of delivery temperatures over an extended period of time revealed no cases in which Bateman’s products were “delivered out of the range of acceptable temperatures.”
Bateman is owned by Compass Group North America, a division of the UK-based Compass Group PLC. The parent company bills itself as “the world’s leading food service company.”
DiGiorgi said Old Colony Elder Services’ catering contract with Bateman expires Sept. 30.
“As is standard, we go out to bid every three to five years, and we are in the middle of reviewing bid proposals for that right now,” she said.
The Wednesday lunch included roasted turkey with gravy, cranberry sauce, whipped potatoes, peas and carrots, a multigrain roll, and birthday cake, Bateman spokeswoman Sarah Hada said.
The recall was unfortunate in part, DiGiorgi said, “because the elders really like this particular meal.”
The state is testing 4,400 turkey lunches that were the subject of a precautionary recall earlier this week. The meals, from Canton-based Bateman Catering, were supposed to be lunch for seniors who attend hot lunch programs throughout southeastern Massachusetts.
But they were recalled Wednesday after a senior center volunteer in Marshfield reported that the meals “had a strange odor to them and contained what appeared to be a substance of some sort that looked like mold,” said Suzanne Condon, director of the bureau of environmental health within the state Department of Public Health. A senior lunch volunteer in New Bedford made a similar report about the meals to the state Office of Elder Affairs Wednesday.
But Condon said it is unlikely the meals had mold on them since the time between when they were made and delivered wasn’t long enough for mold to grow.
Bateman Catering supplies thousands of meals each weekday to five elder agencies from Foxboro to Cape Cod. One of those agencies, Old Colony Elder Services of Brockton, serves seniors in 23 communities, including Plymouth and Kingston.
Condon said the state has received reports on two people who ate the meals, one of whom developed diarrhea, the other who reported going to a doctor. It is unclear what the second person’s symptoms were, Condon said, or whether the turkey meals were to blame.
Diana DiGiorgi, director of Old Colony Elder Services, said two people served by that agency developed diarrhea but it wasn’t clear whether they had eaten the meals.
Bateman said in a statement, “Our quality assurance team is working with the state department of public health to ascertain whether there is an issue with the meal.”
The company has a clean inspection record, Canton’s director of public health John Ciccotelli said.
He said town health records show no cases of contaminated food provided by Bateman, and added that he is not aware of any previous food recalls.
“We have had complaints about temperatures in the past,” Ciccotelli said. But, he added, records of delivery temperatures over an extended period of time revealed no cases in which Bateman’s products were “delivered out of the range of acceptable temperatures.”
Bateman is owned by Compass Group North America, a division of the UK-based Compass Group PLC. The parent company bills itself as “the world’s leading food service company.”
DiGiorgi said Old Colony Elder Services’ catering contract with Bateman expires Sept. 30.
“As is standard, we go out to bid every three to five years, and we are in the middle of reviewing bid proposals for that right now,” she said.
The Wednesday lunch included roasted turkey with gravy, cranberry sauce, whipped potatoes, peas and carrots, a multigrain roll, and birthday cake, Bateman spokeswoman Sarah Hada said.
The recall was unfortunate in part, DiGiorgi said, “because the elders really like this particular meal.”
Edward B. Colby may be reached at ecolby@ledger.com.
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