Listeria Contamination Leads to Massive Recall of Ready-to-Eat Poultry Products

Photo byU.S. Department of Agriculture

Public health authorities have issued an urgent health warning after a recall of over 11 million pounds of ready-to-eat meals containing poultry products found to be contaminated with Listeria. The pre-cooked meals, which include wraps, burritos, salads, and meats, were shipped to grocery stores, restaurants, schools, and other locations nationwide and can be found in well-known grocery stores such as Aldi, Amazon Fresh, Kroger, Target, Trader Joe's, Walmart, and Wegmans.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) identified listeria during routine testing of Oklahoma-based BrucePac's poultry products. BrucePac is a major seller of pre-cooked proteins. You can find the USDA list of recalled products here. It's currently 345 pages long, but there is a search function to look up individual products.

Photo byhttps://www.yahoo.com/news

The recalled products were produced between May 31 and October 8 and should show the establishment numbers "51205" or "P-51205" on their packaging. However, since BrucePac sells to other companies, there is no comprehensive list of retail products.

Public health Authorities are urging consumers to discard any affected products and monitor the USDA website for updates. Especially concerning for parents, the food products were distributed to schools nationwide. The USDA has stated that it will post a school distribution list on its website soon.

Listeria bacteria can cause severe infections, especially dangerous for pregnant women, people over 65, and people with weakened immune systems. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says listeria infection is the third leading cause of death from foodborne illnesses in the U.S. Symptoms of listeriosis include fever, chills, muscle aches, nausea, diarrhea, stiff neck, loss of balance, and convulsions. These symptoms can appear anywhere from after first eating to up to 30 days later. If you experience any of these symptoms, especially if you are in a high-risk group, please contact your healthcare provider immediately.

Consumers with food safety questions can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-674-6854 or email MPHotline@usda.gov and can report complaints on products online.