10 Million Pounds of Meat Recalled Due to Listeria Concerns: What to Know

There have been no confirmed reports of illness linked to the products yet. Listeria outbreaks are especially dangerous for the elderly, immunocompromised or pregnant. The new recall comes after a separate A listeria-linked recall of Boar's Head deli meat has sparked concerns about illness in the United States this summer. Here's what to know.

• The recalled products include ready-to-eat meat and poultry items which are sold in stores across the country including Walmart, Target, Aldi, Trader Joe's, Kroger, Publix, Wegmans and more.
• Initially, FSIS said the recalled products have establishment number 51205 or P-51205 inside or below the USDA inspection mark on their labels, but it later warns that some recalled products may carry a different number “due to further distribution and processing by other establishments.”
• FSIS is encouraging consumers to review a 326-page list of labels and products included in the recall. The list includes images of 7-Eleven, Amazon Kitchen, Boston Market, Dole, Taylor Farms, Giant Eagle and ReadyMeals branding, along with several other name brand labels.
• Among the recalled items are chicken-based salad bowls, wraps, sandwiches, burritos and pasta.
• FSIS said it is concerned that some of the products may be found in restaurants, establishments and other establishments and has requested that “these products be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.”

Listeria was found during routine testing of brewpack-prepared, ready-to-eat poultry products and was found in brewpack ready-to-eat chicken, FSIS said. In response, BrucePack has “stopped production and immediately recalled all products that may be affected,” the company said in an FAQ shared last week.

“We are committed to providing safe, high-quality products,” Brucepack said, adding, “We will not resume production until we resolve this issue.”

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

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 begin within two weeks of eating the 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 caused by Listeria usually causes vomiting and/or diarrhea and usually lasts one to three days.

The Brucepack recall comes after another major recall of more than 7 million pounds of Boar's Head meat products, spanning 71 products, over listeria concerns over the summer. According to the CDC, 10 people have died and 59 have been hospitalized with illnesses linked to that outbreak, the largest since 2011, when 33 people died from contaminated cantaloupes.

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