Over 9 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat, poultry recalled: USDA

WASHINGTON (WKBN) – Millions of pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products are being recalled, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The agency said the products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

An alert from the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service says that BrucePac, an establishment from Durant, Oklahoma, produced the products. The press release states that these products were shipped to other establishments and distributors nationwide and then distributed to restaurants and institutions. Information regarding product labels and the list of products will be provided when available.

The USDA said approximately 9.9 million pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) meat and poultry products are being recalled. The press release says that the products have the establishment numbers “51205 or P-51205” inside or under the USDA mark of inspection.

The agency encouraged restaurants and establishments not to serve the recalled products.

The USDA said the issue was discovered during product testing where BrucePac RTE chicken tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

The alert states that there have been no confirmed reports or cases of adverse reactions due to anyone eating these products. The USDA said anyone concerned about an illness should contact a healthcare provider.

The USDA said eating food contaminated with listeria can cause listeriosis, a serious infection that primarily affects older adults, people with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women, along with their newborns.

The USDA said this infection can cause fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. The agency said in pregnant women, the condition can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery, or life-threatening infection of the newborn.

The USDA said that serious and sometimes fatal infections can occur in older adults and persons with weakened immune systems.

Listeriosis can be treated with antibiotics.

Anyone with questions can contact Jeff Golangco, vice president of Business Development at BrucePac, at 503-874-3000.

Consumers with food safety questions can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-MPHotline (888-674-6854) or send a question via email to MPHotline@usda.gov . For customers who need to report a problem with a meat, poultry, or egg product, the online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at https://foodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov/eCCF/ . More information can be found on the USDA website.

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