Massive meat recall over Listeria

Another nationwide meat recall is underway over Listeria contamination.  As of October 15, meat supplier BrucePac, of Durant, Oklahoma, is recalling 11.8 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products after routine federal safety testing found Listeria monocytogenes, a potentially deadly bacterium, in samples of the company’s poultry.  The finding triggered an immediate recall, which was first issued on October 9.  According to officials, they are still working to understand the extent of the contamination and struggling to identify the hundreds of potentially contaminated products.

“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,” BrucePac said in a statement updated October 15.

Depending on the packaging, the products may have establishment numbers 51205 or P-51205 inside or under the USDA mark of inspection.  Consumers can also determine whether they have purchased any of the affected products by looking through a 342-page list of products identified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In the latest update, the USDA noted that some of the recalled products were also distributed to schools, but the agency hasn’t identified the schools that received the products.  Restaurants and other institutions also received the products.

This recall comes on the heels of a similarly large one for Boar’s Head brand meats, which was linked to the largest Listeria outbreak the U.S. has seen in years.  The outbreak sickened at least 59 people in 19 states, sending all 59 to the hospital and killing at least 10.  USDA inspection reports indicated widespread sanitation problems at the company’s Jarratt, Virginia, plant, which had since been shut down indefinitely.

So far, there have been no illnesses linked to BrucePac meats.  While most illnesses develop within two weeks of an exposure, some can take up to 10 weeks.  For many people, Listeria infections may cause no more than a short-lived intestinal illness, which is unlikely to get diagnosed and reported.  But for people age 65 and older, those with compromised immune systems, and who are pregnant, the infection can become invasive and cause severe illness.