Consumer Reports on Listeria Contamination of Ready-to-Eat Meat and Poultry Products Returned to the Food Ingredients Department
Public health authorities are urging Americans to check their fridges and freezers after recalling more than 11 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry items over possible listeria contamination.
BrucePac is working closely with the USDA to make the public aware of the issue and make sure necessary actions are taken to ensure a safe food supply.
The FSIS said that it detected listeria during routine testing of the finished products, and that a subsequent investigation confirmed the source.
The bacteria can cause a serious infection that is especially dangerous for people who are pregnant, over 65 or have weakened immune systems. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions linked to the products, it adds.
The USDA confirmed this week that the products have been distributed to schools and that a school distribution list will be posted on its website.
“Because we sell to other companies who resell, repackage, or use our products as ingredients in other foods, we do not have a list of retail products that contain our recalled items,” the company said in a statement, adding that the best way for people to identify contaminated products is through the USDA website or by calling the company or retailer from which they got the package.
They are sold in a number of stores including: Amazon Fresh, H-E-B, Kroger, Meijer, Target, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, and 7-Eleven.
Consumer Reports of USDA Products Reported Between May 31-October 8 and the Season of the Listeria Event at the Virginia Linear Collider
The goods were produced between May 31 and October 8 and were either inside or underneath the USDA mark of inspection. But BrucePac cautioned that the number is only on packages it ships directly to customers, not retail packages.
The list of recalled products is 347 pages long, and people are urged to use the search feature to look up individual products at stores and brands at home.
Authorities are worried that some product may be available for use in restaurants, schools and other establishments, and are urging them to throw the goods out immediately.
Consumers with questions can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-674-6355 or email [email protected], while they can also report complaints about any meat, poultry or egg products online.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says listeria infection is the third leading cause of death from foodborne illnesses in the U.S., estimating that 1,600 people are infected and 260 people die from it each year.
The infection can be fatal in older adults and people with weakened immune systems, and can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery in pregnant women as well as life-threatening infections in their newborns.
Anyone in the higher risk categories who experiences flu-like symptoms within 2 months of eating contaminated food should seek medical care and tell their health care provider, according to the USDA.
An outbreak of Listeria that resulted in 59 hospitalizations and 10 deaths across 19 states this summer is among the many recalls that have been linked to the disease. The USDA opened an internal investigation into the handling of safety violations that were reported at the Virginia plant.