A nationwide recall of meat and poultry products potentially contaminated with listeria has expanded to nearly 12 million pounds and now includes ready-to-eat meals shipped to U.S. schools, restaurants and major retailers, federal officials said.
The updated recall includes prepared salads, wraps and other foods sold at stores such as Costco, Trader Joe’s, Target, Walmart and Kroger. The meat used in those products was processed at a Durant, Oklahoma, manufacturing plant operated by BrucePac. The Woodburn, Oregon-based company sells precooked beef and poultry to industrial, food service and retail companies nationwide.
Routine testing found potentially dangerous listeria bacteria in BrucePac chicken samples, USDA officials said. No illnesses have been confirmed in connection with the recall, USDA officials said. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not launched an investigation into the outbreak, a spokesperson said.
The recall, issued on October 9, includes food produced between May 31 and October 8. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released a 342-page list of hundreds of potentially affected foods, including chicken wraps sold at Trader Joe’s, chicken burritos sold at Costco and many types of salads sold at stores like Target and Walmart. Food was also sent to school districts and restaurants across the country.
The recalled foods can be identified by the establishment numbers “51205 or P-51205” inside or below the USDA inspection seal. Consumers can search the USDA recall site to find potentially affected products. Those foods must be thrown out or returned to stores for refunds, officials said.
Eating foods contaminated with listeria can cause potentially serious illness. About 1,600 people are infected with listeria bacteria each year in the United States, and about 260 die, according to the CDC.
Listeria infections usually cause fever, muscle aches, and fatigue, and can cause a stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and seizures. Symptoms may occur quickly or up to 10 weeks after eating contaminated food. Infections are especially dangerous for older adults, people with weakened immune systems, or pregnant women.
The same type of bacteria is responsible for an outbreak linked to Boar’s Head deli meat that has killed at least 10 people since May.
