The last time I reported on the potentially deadly foodborne illness called listeria, an outbreak from contaminated Bor’s head meat had claimed the lives of 10 people.
Now, a major meatpacker has recalled nearly 10 million pounds of ready-to-eat beef and poultry items due to fears that they may be contaminated with listeria.
BrucePac, the company based in Durant, Okla whose brand names include Urban Bruce and City Grillers, said it was recalling 9,986,245 pounds of ready-to-eat products that were produced from June 19 of this year until Oct. 8, according to the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.“These products were shipped to other establishments and distributors nationwide then distributed to restaurants and institutions,” the agency said on Wednesday.The USDA said it discovered the issue after conducting routine testing of poultry products. The testing came back positive for Listeria monocytogenes, a species of bacteria that causes infection and could lead to death in severe cases.
Listeriosis (also referred to as listeria) is an infection caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. It occurs when contaminated food (in this case, deli meat) is eaten. Mild cases can result in nausea, diarrhea, and other flu-like symptoms. More severe cases can result in blood poisoning, meningitis, and death.
The good news is that no “adverse effects” have been linked to the BrucePac meats.
So far there have been “no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products,” the USDA said Wednesday. However, some people who get ill recover without being tested for listeria and it usually takes weeks to link an illness with an outbreak. It can take up to 10 weeks for symptoms of listeria infection to begin.“Restaurants, institutions, and other establishments are urged not to serve or use these products. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” the USDA said. “Anyone concerned about an illness should contact a healthcare provider.”
I will note that the magnitude and timing of these listeria incidents are troubling. I would like to know the root causes of the BurcePac and Boar’s Head cases.
Food security is national security. And by food security, I mean protecting the food from destruction or contamination from growth or birth to packaging.
Furthermore, it will be interesting to see how much impact the loss of 10 million pounds of meat will have on inflation.
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