Listeria recall expands to include nearly 12 million pounds of meat, hitting US schools

A recall by meat producer BrucePac has grown to nearly 12 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products due to possible Listeria contamination, after the Durant, Oklahoma-based company recalled over 9 million pounds of products last week.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service issued an announcement Oct. 15 sharing new details about an expansion of the earlier Oct. 9 BrucePac recall to additional products and production dates, adding that some of the items were sent to U.S schools were sent.

“The details of this press release have been updated to reflect the addition of 1,779,040 pounds of product affected by the recall, increasing the weight from 9,986,245 to 11,765,285 pounds,” the announcement said. “This recall notice has also been updated to reflect that the recalled products were also distributed to schools. A school distribution list is not currently available.”

The updated recall affects hundreds of products such as prepared salads, burritos and other foods sold at stores such as Costco, Trader Joe's, Target, Walmart and Kroger.

BrucePac initially recalled approximately 9,986,245 pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products manufactured from June 19, 2024 to October 8, 2024, according to an Oct. 9 notice from FSIS.

The agency said at the time that it discovered the problem after conducting routine FSIS product testing on finished poultry products that came back positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

Further investigation revealed that BrucePac ready-made chicken was the source of the contamination. FSIS also added that there have been no confirmed reports of illness to date.

Affected products subject to recall as of the October 9 announcement will have the company numbers “51205 or P-51205” within or below the USDA inspection mark. A complete list of recalled items can be found here.

FSIS officials warned in an Oct. 11 update that “some of the recalled products may have a different establishment number on the label due to continued distribution and processing by other establishments.”

“Consumers are urged to carefully read the information, including product and label information, contained in BrucePac’s ready-to-eat meat and poultry recall press release,” the agency said at the time.

ABC News reached out to BrucePac for comment on the recall but did not receive a response.

Eating food contaminated with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes can cause a rare but serious infection called listeriosis. According to the CDC, the infection can lead to invasive listeriosis, which occurs when the bacteria spread beyond the intestines to other parts of the body.

According to the CDC, symptoms of severe illness usually begin one to four weeks after consuming contaminated food, but may appear as early as the same day or as late as 70 days later.

According to the CDC, an estimated 1,600 people in the U.S. get listeriosis each year and about 260 people die from it. Those most at risk are pregnant women and newborns, adults aged 65 and over and people with weakened immune systems.

Non-pregnant women may experience symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle pain, fatigue, stiff neck, confusion or loss of balance. Pregnant women may experience fever and flu-like symptoms.

The CDC recommends that people at higher risk of listeriosis avoid eating sliced ​​meat at deli counters unless it is heated to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit just before serving or until steaming hot. The agency also recommends calling your doctor if you have symptoms of listeriosis and have recently eaten sliced ​​meat at a deli counter.