AMD Imports recalls more than 35,000 pounds of Australian lamb

Jan 05, 2015

Products brought into United States without full inspection

By Diego Flammini, Farms.com

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced a recall of more than 35,000 pounds of Australian lamb shipped to AMD Imports out of Houston, Texas. The meat was then shipped to other distributors and retailers.

The products are being recalled because they were not properly inspected upon entering the United States. Without a full inspection, the chance for illness to occur is increased. Using the Public Health Information System (PHIS), FSIS staff discovered an independent third party carrier failed to present the goods for inspection.

The items being recalled are:

Lot A, 17,500lbs: 416 containers of Australian Bone-In Lamb Shoulder weighing from 36 to 51 lbs each with package code “730030”. The product was packaged by Wagstaff Canbourne on dates ranging from September 8, 2014 – October 10, 2014.

Lot B, 17,775lbs: 416 containers of Australian Bone-In Lamb Shoulder weighing from 36 to 51 lbs each with package code “730030”. The product was packaged by Wagstaff Canbourne on dates ranging from September 8, 2014 – October 10, 2014.

The items will have an Australian inspection mark and “2773” as the establishment number.

The USDA is classifying this recall as “Class I” with a high health risk, meaning it’s “a health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.”

There have been no reports of any illness due to consumption of the lamb products.

In 2013, Australia imported over 38,000 tonnes of lamb into the United States.

Anyone with concerns can contact Dan Martinez at (713) 928-3111.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.