The Oklahoma-based food company BrucePac issued the recall after tests found that many of their products were positive for listeria monocytogenes. The items involved in the recall were produced between June and October of this year and shipped to distributors around the U.S. It is believed that more than 9.9 million pounds of ready-to-eat poultry and meat products have been contaminated.
The USDA said in a press release: “The problem was discovered after USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) performed routine product testing of finished product containing RTE [ready-to-eat] poultry products produced by BrucePac and confirmed those products positive for Listeria monocytogenes.”
Listeria infection is rare, but it can be deadly
Food that is contaminated with the listeria monocytogenes bacteria can cause a listeria infection. The CDC reports that listeria is currently the third leading cause of death stemming from foodborne illness in the United States, with 1600 people being infected with the bacteria each year and 260 dying.
Some of the symptoms of listeriosis include muscle aches, a stiff neck, confusion, convulsions, loss of balance, headache and fever. Diarrhea and other gastrointestinal disturbances are common, but the infection often extends beyond the GI tract and is particularly risky in the elderly, newborns and pregnant women. It can be treated with antibiotics if caught early.
According to the Food Safety and Inspection Service, many shipments of meat and poultry that could have been contaminated have already been distributed to restaurants and institutions, who are being warned not to serve or use those bearing the affected batch numbers. Some of the recalled meats that were used to make ready-to-eat products could already be in some people’s refrigerators or freezers.
There have not been any confirmed reports of adverse reactions among those who consumed the products, but it is important to keep in mind that some people who get sick from listeria will recover without ever being tested, and it may take several weeks to link a case to an outbreak. In addition, the symptoms of a listeria infection could take as many as 10 weeks to begin.
Boar's Head deli meats also involved in listeria outbreak
This outbreak comes on the heels of a similar outbreak connected to Boar's Head deli meat, which has caused 59 hospitalizations and 10 deaths since the CDC began an investigation into the matter in July. The outbreak sickened people in 19 states, and former workers have revealed highly unsanitary conditions in the plant.
The Boar’s Head facility implicated in the outbreak was cited 69 times for noncompliance in the year leading up to the incident due to the presence of pools of blood on the floor, bugs, clogged drains and mold. A total of more than 7 million pounds of deli meat and cheese were recalled.
The BrucePac meat isn’t the only food consumers need to watch out for; there is also an egg recall alert in effect that was issued by the CDC on September 6 before being upgraded to a Class 1 recall on September 30, designating it as a product that “will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”
The notice came after 65 individuals across 9 states became infected with salmonella linked to eggs, with 24 people requiring hospitalization as a result. The recalled eggs were distributed to retailers and food service distributors in Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin.
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