Nearly 200 Philly schools impacted by meat and poultry recall

Nearly 200 schools in Philadelphia were impacted by a meat and poultry recall due to possible listeria contamination, according to a letter to parents from the School District of Philadelphia.

Roughly 5,000 tons of ready-to-eat foods were recalled this week by BrucePac of Woodburn, Oregon, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service detected listeria in samples of its poultry during routine testing at the company's plant in Durant, Oklahoma. The USDA says testing identified BrucePac chicken as the source.

The nationwide recall includes 75 meat and chicken products produced between June 19 and Oct. 8.

According to the Philadelphia School District, 197 pre-K and K-12 schools in the district were affected.

The school district says the products served include:

• Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Penne served to pre-K students on Oct. 8
• Pre-K students with a food allergy were served Chicken Strips Honey Mustard Green Bean and Chicken Caribbean Pineapple Sauce Rice Carrots from Oct. 4-10
• Chicken with BBQ Sauce Rice Baked Beans on Sept. 23

"Today, Whitsons Culinary Group notified the School District of Philadelphia that certain chicken products which had been provided to our Pre-K or schools as part of a meal program are the subject of a nationwide recall due to a potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes," Oz Hill, the interim deputy superintendent of operations, wrote in the letter.

The district said it's removing the remaining items from its schools.

"Listeria is a bacteria," Dr. Eric Sachinwalla of Jefferson Health said. "It's a typical cause of food poisoning or gastroenteritis."

Sachinwalla said listeria infections are usually not serious except for people in high-risk groups like the elderly and pregnant women.

"I think for the vast majority of children, no, it shouldn't [pose significant dangers to children]," Sachinwalla said. "Even children with underlying health conditions are probably okay with this. We don't typically see invasive illness in children."

Listeria symptoms usually start one to four weeks after eating contaminated food and can happen in a day or as much as 10 weeks later, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The USDA said no reports of illness have been linked to the recall.

Philadelphia school district parents can contact recallnotification101024@philasd.org or call 215-400-5600 if they have any questions.