Consumers warned not to eat certain products made by Farmstead

By Richard Asinof
Contributing Writer
Twitter: @RichardAsinof

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Health issued a consumer advisory not to eat certain food products produced by Farmstead Inc. at 186 Wayland Ave.

Numerous items are being recalled voluntarily due to food safety concerns.

Inspectors from the health agency said that they had initiated an investigation after receiving a tip. No illnesses associated from these products have been reported at this time, according to the agency.

The products in being voluntarily recalled include:

• Jarred vegetables (8 or 16 oz. Ball jars), including carrots, beets, eggplant, zucchini, pickles, and tomato jam.

• Meat products, including chicken liver mousse and pork rillettes (4 oz. jars), produced by Farmstead Inc. are being voluntarily recalled because they may have been improperly processed, making them susceptible to contamination with Clostridium botulinum. These jars have a screw-on metal lid with the name of the product, but do not contain production or date codes.

• Certain soft and semi-soft cheeses, raw milk cheeses, goat cheeses, and any cheeses that are labeled “Keep Refrigerated” and were sold at room temperature in the retail store are also being recalled.

• D’Artagnan salami (labeled “Keep Refrigerated”) and proscuitto, salamis, liverwurst, pâtés, and other meats processed at the store are also being recalled because they were improperly processed.

Matt Jennings, the executive chef at Farmstead and La Laiterie, referred all questions to Marlo Fogelman, the principal at Marlo Marketing/Communications in Boston, Mass. Ariel Sasso from that agency issued the following statement:

“As a result of an article about Farmstead, Inc.’s popular “Meat of the Month” Club that appeared in yesterday’s The Providence Journal, the Rhode Island Department of Health decided to inspect our cheese shop, a beloved part of Wayland Square for the past 10 years.

Despite a thorough passing inspection by the Department of Health in 2010 and no change in food preparation, handling or storage practices since that time, the Department of Health has decided to temporarily close the retail component of Farmstead, Inc.

As a European-style cheese shop, the majority of our products come from small, artisan producers throughout the U.S.

In 10 years of doing business in Providence and to customers across the country, no one has ever complained of falling ill; Farmstead Inc.’s reputation is untarnished in that regard.

However, we have agreed to a voluntary recall based on new assumptions being made by the Health Department, namely around their determination of how best to store raw milk and soft cheese products.

We hope to reopen the retail component of our business soon, and are working in full compliance with the Department of Health. Our restaurant remains open for lunch and dinner daily.”