A recall involving listeria has affected nearly 10 million pounds of meat and chicken products, impacting store brands from seven of the top 10 grocery chains in the country, along with some other familiar chains and several well-known name brands.
If you shop at Walmart, Kroger, Albertson’s, Publix, H-E-B, Target, Meijer, Amazon Fresh, Aldi, Trader Joe’s, Giant Eagle, or purchase chicken products from brands like Atkins, Boston Market, Dole, Fresh Express, Rao’s, Michael Angelo’s, Don Pancho’s, Bistro 28, Jenny Craig, or El Monterey, you’ll want to keep reading.
This list includes a lesser-known company along with several well-known stores and brands.
Reason for the Recall
An Oregon-based company, BrucePac, faced scrutiny after USDA Food Safety Inspection Service testing detected listeria in a finished ready-to-eat chicken product at its Durant, Oklahoma facility. BrucePac has issued a recall for all ready-to-eat meat and poultry products produced at their facility from June 19 to October 8. In total, this amounts to approximately 9,986,245 pounds of beef, pork, turkey, and predominantly, chicken.
At first, the affected products included only those marketed under the brands BrucePac, City Grillers, and Urban Bruce.
“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 wrote in a release posted to its site on Friday.
That took a turn Thursday night.
Impact of the Recall
If a supplier faces a foodborne illness issue, it impacts all of their customers as well. On Thursday night, new recalls were announced for Fresh Express premade salads with chicken, as well as similar salads sold under Walmart’s Marketside brand, Aldi’s Little Salad Bar brand, Trader Joe’s, and H-E-B store brands.
By Sunday evening, the roster of chicken items linked to the listeria recall expanded to a comprehensive 203-page document. Many of the items are pre-packaged salads that have a “best by” date of October 13 or earlier. There are also various frozen items available, including brands like Great Value, Boston Market, H-E-B, El Monterrey, and certain Amazon Fresh products, among others.
Walmart: Marketside and Great Value.
Publix: Publix Deli Chicken Street Taco Kit, best by dates of June 24 through Oct. 16.
Costco: Red’s Mini Burritos.
Meijer: Meijer ready-to-eat salads
Aldi: Little Salad Bar ready-to-eat salads and Fusia.
Amazon Fresh: Amazon Fresh brand ready-to-eat and frozen dishes.
Albertsons: Signature Select (this includes all the chains owned by Albertsons, including Safeway and Vons).
Giant Eagle: Giant Eagle brand salads.
Target: Good & Gather ready to eat salads and frozen meal.
Trader Joe’s: Trader Joe’s ready-to-eat salads and frozen meals.
Burrito 28: Chicken Quesadilla, Chicken Street Taco, Chicken Burrito Bowl, Green Chile Chicken Enchilada express meal kits (posted to the FDA site).
Don Pancho’s: Chicken Quesadilla, Chicken Street Taco, Green Chile Chicken Enchilada express meal kits (posted to the FDA site).
Dole: Ready-to-eat salads.
And among the frozen foods…
H-E-B: Three H-E-B frozen chicken meals.
El Monterey: Chicken Enchilada meal, Spicy Chipotle Chicken Bowl and Chicken and Cheese Taquitos.
What is Listeria Contamination?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that approximately 1,600 individuals in the United States contract Listeria each year. Approximately 260 of the 1,600 individuals perish. Stillbirths and miscarriages are potential complications for pregnant women. Typically, individuals with compromised immune systems, infants under the age of 5, and adults over the age of 65 are the most susceptible to listeria. Muscle aches, fever, headache, and occasionally loss of balance, possible convulsions, are among the symptoms.
Reference: Listeria recall of chicken hits Publix, Target, Amazon, Kroger, Albertsons and others