Lee's Sandwiches recalls meat after federal inspection

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A fast food chain that specializes in Vietnamese food has announced it's recalling some meat.

The USDA is classifying this as a Class One recall, which means the health risk is high.

Lee's Sandwiches, which started in San Jose, is recalling 213,000 pounds of meat products without the USDA mark of inspection. The USDA says the beef, chicken and pork products were produced and packaged without federal inspection.

The agency says the company used another facility's mark of inspection on many of the items even though inspectors had not approved them.

"It's a shock yeah," said Elaine Dam, a customer. "I never thought it not pass USDA."

"It's concerning. I've gotten food poisoning from other bahn mi me places, so I definitely want to see that regulated," said customer Warren Pattison.

The recalled items were produced from May of last year to Tuesday of last week.

The company LQNN incorporated is based in Southern California. It operates as Lee's Sandwiches, a popular fast food chain specializing in Vietnamese sandwiches.

Their shops are in six states, 48 of them in California, of which 14 are in the Bay Area. So far, there have no reports of anyone getting sick. Almost none of the customers who spoke with ABC7 News knew about the recall. Many regulars said they didn't care.

"I think their food's awesome, so I think they're just targeting them so," said customer Eddie Kim.

In 2013, 740 pounds of Lee's Sandwiches brand sausages were recalled when a safety assessment by the USDA found they may have contained toxins that could cause food poisoning. No one in that recall reported adverse reactions to the food.

Click here to read the official statement from the USDA.

Click here for details on the latest recalls here in the Bay Area and across the country.