10 million pounds of meat recalled over listeria concern: What to know

FILE - In this May 10, 2020 file photo, a shopper pushes his cart past a display of packaged meat in a grocery store in southeast Denver. Prices at the wholesale level fell from June to July, the first month-to-month drop in more than two years and a sign that some of the U.S. economy's inflationary pressures cooled last month. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that the producer price index — which measures inflation before it reaches consumers — declined 0.5% in July. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Several food items sold at some of the most popular U.S. grocery stores are included in a sweeping new 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.

BrucePac, a precooked meat producer, is recalling the items, which were produced from June 19 to Oct. 8 and have been distributed nationwide, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said last week. Big-name outlets including Walmart, Target, Kroger and Trader Joe’s are among those affected by the recall.

There have not yet been confirmed reports of illness linked to the products. Listeria outbreaks are particularly dangerous for the elderly, immunocompromised or pregnant. The new recall comes after a separate listeria-linked recall, of Boar’s Head deli meat, stirred concern about the illness in the United States this summer. Here’s what to know.

Newly recalled products

The recalled products include ready-to-eat meat and poultry items that have been sold at stores across the country, including Walmart, Target, Aldi, Trader Joe’s, Kroger, Publix, Wegmans and more.

Initially, the FSIS said the recalled goods have the establishment numbers 51205 or P-51205 inside or under the USDA mark of inspection on their labels, but it cautioned later that some recalled products could bear a different number “due to further distribution and processing by other establishments.”

The FSIS is encouraging consumers to review a 326-page list at fsis.gov of labels and products included in the recall. The list has images of labels with 7-Eleven, Amazon Kitchen, Boston Market, Dole, Taylor Farms, Giant Eagle and ReadyMeals branding, among several other name brands.

Among the recalled items are chicken-based salad bowls, wraps, sandwiches, burritos and pastas.

The FSIS said it is concerned that some products may be available in restaurants, institutions and other establishments, and urged that “these products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.”

BracePac’s response

Listeria was found during routine testing of finished, ready-to-eat poultry products from BrucePac and was traced to BrucePac ready-to-eat chicken, the FSIS said. In response, BrucePac “stopped production and immediately recalled all products that may have been affected,” the company said in a FAQ shared last week.

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

What is listeria?

Listeria monocytogenes is the bacteria that causes listeria infection in humans, one of the leading causes of death from foodborne illness in the United States. Every year an estimated 1,600 people get sick from listeria and 260 die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A Listeria monocytogenes bacterium. (Elizabeth White/CDC via AP, File)

The World Health Organization calls it a “relatively rare disease.” However, the infection is especially harmful to those who are pregnant - as it can result in pregnancy loss or life-threatening infection in the newborn - as well as those who are immunocompromised or elderly.

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

Previous outbreaks

The BrucePac recall comes after another large recall of more than 7 million pounds of Boar’s Head meat products, spanning 71 products, prompted concern about listeria over the summer. Per the CDC, 10 people have died and 59 have been hospitalized as a result of illnesses linked to that outbreak, which is the largest since 2011, when contaminated cantaloupes led to 33 deaths.

The summer outbreak was traced to a Boar’s Head plant in Jarratt, Va., where dirty work areas, old equipment and haphazard cleaning may have created conditions that allowed the bacteria to thrive, The Washington Post reported.