This audio is generated automatically. Please let me know if you have any comments.
Hundreds of foods sold at major grocery chains, restaurants and schools have been caught up in a massive recall involving nearly 12 million pounds of pre-cooked meat and poultry. Federal officials have warned that more items may be added as they race to understand the full story. Degree of pollution.
BrucePac, an Oregon-based chicken processor, first issued a recall of 9.9 million pounds of poultry and meat products on Oct. 9 after routine inspection by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found listeria in ready-to-eat poultry samples. . There have been no reports of illnesses or deaths linked to the recall, which was recently expanded to include an additional 1.8 million pounds of product.
BrucePac sells chicken for further processing and use as an ingredient in frozen meals and other ready-to-eat meals, making it difficult for the company and USDA officials to understand the full range of products affected by the recall. “We do not have a list of retail products that contain the recalled items,” the company said in a statement.
USDA’s current recall list includes pre-packaged salads, frozen meals and a variety of other products from a variety of retailers, including physical grocery stores and online meal subscription services. The 342-page recall list also includes many grocery stores’ private brands, including products from Trader Joe’s, Kroger, 7-Eleven and Amazon Fresh.
Affected products include products manufactured at the BrucePac plant in Durant, Oklahoma, from June 19 to October 8, the company said. According to the USDA’s list, the “best before date” for many products is 2025.
Since the recall was first announced, the list has expanded from 75 products to hundreds. The USDA issued an update Tuesday confirming that the recalled product had been distributed to schools, and the department is compiling a full list of affected institutions.
The recalled products will have the number “51205 or P-51205” inside or below the USDA inspection mark. However, consumers will likely not find that number on affected products. BrucePac said these labels appear only on packages shipped directly to retailers and other businesses and not on the commercial products themselves.
The USDA said “additional products may be added” and urged consumers to consult a list of affected products.
Consuming food contaminated with listeria bacteria can cause listeriosis. This infection can be fatal for older people, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems. A listeria food poisoning outbreak linked to Boar’s Head deli meat has killed at least 10 people since July and led to several lawsuits.
