What to know after meat recall due to listeria concerns

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Several food items sold at most popular U.S. grocery stores are included in a new, sweeping recall of 9,986,245 pounds of meat and poultry products that may be contaminated with listeria, a bacteria that can cause illness in humans.

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BrucePac, a producer of prepared meats, is recalling products produced from June 19 to October 8 and distributed nationwide, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced last week. The recall affects well-known stores including Walmart, Target, Kroger and Trader Joe's.

There are no confirmed reports of illness associated with the products yet. Listeria outbreaks are especially dangerous for the elderly, immunocompromised or pregnant. The new recall follows a separate recall of wild boar's head meats linked to listeria, which raised concerns about the disease in the United States this summer.

Here's what you need to know:

Newly Discontinued Products

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The recalled products include ready-to-eat meat and poultry products that were sold in stores nationwide, including Walmart, Target, Aldi, Trader Joe's, Kroger, Publix, Wegmans and others.

Initially, FSIS found that the recalled items had establishment numbers 51205 or P-51205 within or under the USDA inspection mark on the labels, but later cautioned that some recalled products may have a different number “due to further distribution and processing by other facilities.”

FSIS encourages consumers to review the 326-page list of labels and products affected by the recall at fsis.gov. The list includes photos of labels from 7-Eleven, Amazon Kitchen, Boston Market, Dole, Taylor Farms, Giant Eagle and ReadyMeals, as well as several other well-known brands.

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The recalled products include chicken-based salad bowls, wraps, sandwiches, burritos and pasta.

FSIS expressed concerns that some products may be available in restaurants, institutions and other establishments and urged that “these products should be discarded or returned to the place of purchase.”

BracePac's response

Listeria was detected during routine testing of BrucePac ready-to-eat poultry products and was linked to BrucePac ready-to-eat chicken, FSIS said. In response, BrucePac “suspended production and immediately recalled all products that may have been affected,” the company said in an FAQ shared last week.

“We want to deliver safe, high-quality products,” BrucePac said, adding: “We will not resume production until we are sure the issue has been resolved.”

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What is listeria?

Listeria monocytogenes is the bacterium that causes listeria infection in humans, one of the leading causes of death from foodborne illness in the United States. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 1,600 people become ill with listeria each year and 260 die.

The World Health Organization calls it a “relatively rare disease.” However, the infection is particularly harmful to pregnant women – it can cause pregnancy loss or a life-threatening infection in the newborn – as well as to immunocompromised people or the elderly.

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Symptoms of a severe infection usually appear within two weeks of eating contaminated food and include fever, flu-like symptoms such as muscle aches and fatigue, stiff neck, confusion and loss of balance, according to the CDC. Milder intestinal illness resulting from listeria usually causes vomiting and/or diarrhea and usually lasts one to three days.

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Previous outbreaks

The BrucePac recall follows another major recall of more than 7 million pounds of boar's head meat products, involving 71 products, that sparked listeria concerns over the summer. According to the CDC, 10 people have died and 59 have been hospitalized as a result of illnesses related to the epidemic, which is the largest since 2011, when contaminated melons caused the death of 33 people.

The summer outbreak has been linked to the Boar's Head plant in Jarratt, Virginia, where dirty work areas, old equipment and haphazard cleaning may have created conditions for bacteria to thrive. Washington Post Office reported.

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