The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued an urgent recall affecting nearly 10 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products from BrucePac due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The recall spans a wide range of products, raising concerns over public health as the bacteria can cause severe illness, particularly in vulnerable populations. Here’s what you need to know about the recall.
What Products Are Affected by the Recall?
The affected products (approximately 9,986,245 pounds in total) were produced by the Oklahoma-based manufacturer BrucePac between June 19th and October 8th, 2024, and distributed nationwide to restaurants and institutions.
A detailed list of recalled products and their corresponding labels has yet to be released but consumers can identify recalled products by looking for the establishment numbers “51205 or P-51205” inside or under the USDA mark of inspection.
Restaurants, institutions, and other establishments are strongly advised against serving or using these products. Affected items should be disposed of properly or returned to the place of purchase.
What Prompted the Recall?
The recall was triggered after routine testing by FSIS detected Listeria monocytogenes in BrucePac’s ready-to-eat poultry products. Subsequent testing confirmed that these poultry products were indeed the sources of the contamination. It’s not clear whether any testing was done on BrucePac’s ready-to-eat meat products, but as a precautionary measure, these items are also being recalled.
What Do You Need to Know About Listeria?
Consuming food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can lead to listeriosis, a severe infection that primarily impacts older adults, immunocompromised individuals, and pregnant women and their newborns. While less common, people outside these high-risk groups can also be affected.
Listeriosis can cause a range of symptoms, including fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions, sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal issues. In severe cases, the infection can spread beyond the gastrointestinal tract, leading to serious and sometimes fatal complications in older adults and immunocompromised individuals. Pregnant women are at risk of miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery, or life-threatening infections in their newborns.
Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics. Individuals in the higher-risk categories who experience flu-like symptoms within two months of consuming potentially contaminated food should seek medical attention and inform their healthcare provider about their dietary history.
To date, there have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions linked to the consumption of these recalled products. However, anyone concerned about their health should contact a healthcare provider.