Millions of pounds of meat and poultry recalled over listeria concerns: NPR

A selection of some of the hundreds of ready-to-eat products affected by the BrucePac recall, according to the USDA.

US Department of Agriculture

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US Department of Agriculture

Health officials are urging Americans to check their refrigerators and freezers after more than 11 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products were recalled due to possible listeria contamination.

Oklahoma-based BrucePac, which sells precooked proteins, is recalling 11,765,285 pounds of meat and poultry that it shipped to grocery stores, restaurants, schools and other institutions across the country, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

FSIS said it discovered listeria during routine testing of finished products containing BrucePac poultry, which a subsequent investigation confirmed as the source.

The bacteria can cause a severe infection This is particularly dangerous for people who are pregnant, over 65, or have a weakened immune system. There are no confirmed reports of side effects associated with the products, it said.

Authorities first announced the recall last week but have since expanded it to include more than one million additional pounds of meat and poultry products. That's hundreds of items from dozens of popular brands sold in over a dozen grocery chains across the country.

The USDA also confirmed this week that the products were distributed to schools and said it would publish a school distribution list on his website as soon as one is available.

The recalled products include salads, wraps, pasta bowls, burritos, enchiladas and many other prepared frozen and family meals and come from brands such as Fresh Express, Rao's, Boston Market, Atkins, Dole, ReadyMeals, Taylor Farms, Home Chef and Signature Select.

The stores they carry include Aldi, Amazon Fresh, Giant Eagle, HEB, Kroger, Meijer, Publix, Target, Trader Joe's, Walmart, Wegmans and 7-Eleven.

The affected goods were manufactured between May 31 and October 8 and bear the establishment numbers “51205” or “P-51205” either within or below the USDA inspection mark. However, BrucePac warned that the number is only on packages shipped directly to customers and not on retail packages.

“Because we sell to other companies who resell, repackage or use our products as ingredients in other foods, we do not have a list of retail products that contain our recalled items,” the company said in a statementand added that contaminated products are best identified through the USDA website or by calling the company or retailer from which they received the package.

The USDA is Keeping a list of recalled products – which runs to 345 pages as of Wednesday – and urges people to use the search function to search for individual products, stores and brands and to throw away everything they have at home.

Authorities say they are also “concerned that some products may be available for use in restaurants, institutions, schools and other facilities” and are urging them to immediately throw away the goods.

BrucePac, in turn, says it is working closely with the USDA to notify consumers, contact affected food companies and retailers and ensure that “all necessary measures are taken to ensure a safe food supply.”

“We will only resume production when we are sure that the problem has been resolved,” it said.

What to do if you're worried?

The USDA urges people to throw away any affected products and to monitor its website for more information as it becomes available.

It says consumers with food safety questions can call the USDA's toll-free Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-674-6854 or email [email protected] Report complaints about all meat, poultry or egg products online.

Anyone concerned about an illness should contact their doctor, the department adds.

Eating foods contaminated with listeria can cause listeriosis, an invasive infection that spreads beyond the gastrointestinal tract and requires treatment with antibiotics.

This is what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say Listeria infection is the third leading cause of death from foodborne illness in the United States. It is estimated that 1,600 people are infected and 260 people die from it every year.

The infection can be fatal in older adults and people with weakened immune systems, and can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature births in pregnant women, and life-threatening infections in newborns.

Symptoms of listeriosis include fever, chills, muscle pain, nausea, diarrhea, stiff neck, loss of balance, and cramps. According to the Mayo Clinic, in some cases symptoms may appear within a few days of eating contaminated food, but in other cases they may take 30 days or longer to appear.

The USDA says anyone in the higher risk category who experiences flu-like symptoms within two months of eating contaminated food should seek medical attention and tell their doctor about the food.

Listeria concerns have been responsible for additional recalls in recent months, including one Outbreak linked to Boar's Head deli meat This resulted in 59 hospitalizations and 10 deaths in 19 states this summer. The USDA has since then an internal investigation has been initiated in his dealings with Prior Reports of security breaches at the Boar's Head plant in Virginia.

NPR's Chandelis Duster contributed reporting.