Local jerky products voluntarily recalled

Yukon residents who may have purchased beef or bison jerky, produced by a local business, Off the Hook Meatworks, are being advised to avoid eating any of these products.

Environmental Health Services, and in consultation with Off the Hook Meatworks, are issuing a recall notice for these products. The product has possibly been contaminated with a foreign material that may be a health hazard.

RCMP are investigating following complaints from several individuals who consumed the product and who felt a variety of physical and mental effects including:

• a feeling of being sick/nauseous;
• numbness;
• stumbling/difficulty walking;
• high heart rate and;
• dizziness.

In those complainants who were assessed at the hospital, traces of THC, the psychoactive ingredient for cannabis, were found in their systems through medical tests. The product has been removed from local store shelves.

If you have this product in your home, follow these steps recommended by the Government of Yukon:

• Don't eat any of the food.
• Get medical attention right away if anyone who has had contact with the food feels unusual symptoms or sick.
• Don't handle the food more than you need to.
• Carefully place all the food in a sealable container (even if it's half-eaten,). Close the container. Write "DO NOT EAT" on the container. 
• Keep any unopened containers of similar product, but do not open them.
• Keep the food away from your regular food supply and away from your family.
• Don't feed the food to pets or livestock. ·      
• Keep the container, packaging, label, receipt and grocery bag that came with the food.
• Write down any information you remember about the product, such as product codes, "best before" dates, where and when product was purchased.

If you suspect that you have eaten beef or bison jerky products from Off the Hook in the last two weeks and have felt unwell, please contact RCMP at 867-667-5555 or Yukon Environmental Health at 867-667-8391.