Kayem Foods' voluntary recall of about 1,584,361 pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry remains the defining food-safety story for anyone who packs post-run lunches, and the key facts have not changed since the weekend.

The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service classified it at its highest level, meaning there is a reasonable probability that eating the affected products could cause serious adverse health consequences or death.

Products were made from roughly March 31 through October 7 at the Chelsea, Massachusetts, facility and shipped to retail and foodservice locations nationwide and to Hong Kong. No confirmed illnesses have been reported.

The recall was triggered on October 1, when a retail customer complained that products arrived warm. Kayem investigated and found a cooling-system malfunction in one warehouse cooler had caused storage temperature deviations, and the company says it has corrected the issue.

The Daily Mail's health desk explains that 'temperature abuse' means food was held outside the safe range during storage or transport, potentially allowing harmful bacteria to grow.

The FSIS notice, the publication notes, did not specify whether the recalled foods actually harbored any harmful bacteria.

According to the Daily Mail, pathogens that can multiply when meat is not kept cold enough include listeria monocytogenes, salmonella, campylobacter, E. coli, clostridium perfringens and staphylococcus aureus.

The report says listeria infects about 1,250 Americans a year and kills roughly 250, and can cause miscarriages and stillbirths, while salmonella triggers an estimated 1.35 million infections, 23,000 hospitalizations and 450 deaths annually.

Staphylococcus aureus toxins, the publication adds, are not destroyed by reheating — a detail that matters for anyone reheating race-weekend leftovers.

The USDA recommends refrigerating meats at a minimum of 40 degrees Fahrenheit or freezing them at 0 degrees, and it publishes a cold storage chart for reference on its website, as ABC News reports.

For endurance athletes who rely on grab-and-go proteins like franks, chicken sausage and deli ham between sessions, the guidance is straightforward: check the USDA mark of inspection for establishment numbers 'EST. M/P 7839,' 'EST.

P 20935A' or 'EST. M 9520,' and do not eat any affected product.

Throw it away or return it to the place of purchase.

Kayem Foods President and CEO Matt Monkiewicz said in a statement that the company takes food safety seriously, that management takes full responsibility, and that the issue has been corrected and will not be allowed to happen again. ABC News and AOL both carry the statement.

The company is contacting wholesale and retail customers with disposal instructions, and customers can call 800-426-6100 or email info@kayem.com. For a brand whose products show up at cookouts and training-table spreads alike, the Class I designation makes consumer vigilance the real safety net.

With no confirmed illnesses linked to the products, the immediate question is whether any recalled items are still sitting in consumers' refrigerators — the FSIS has said it is concerned that some are.

Anyone worried about an illness is urged to contact a healthcare provider, and food-safety questions can go to the USDA's toll-free meat and poultry hotline at 888-MPHotline (888-674-6854) or MPHotline@usda.gov.

The practical takeaway for this week: verify package establishment numbers before eating, and keep cold-chain discipline on anything ready-to-eat.