More than 72,000 pounds of meat products are being recalled in a deadly, multi-state listeria outbreak
A listeria outbreak linked to ready-to-eat meat and poultry products has left one infant dead and least 11 people sick, federal regulators are reporting.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are investigating a multi-state outbreak linked to the recalled meat products.
On Thursday, Spartanburg, South Carolina-based Yu Shang Food Inc. voluntarily recalled roughly 72,240 pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products due to potential contamination of listeria, a bacterium that can cause serious infections.
Cases linked to this outbreak – including nine hospitalizations — have been reported in California, Illinois, New York, and New Jersey. The CDC noted that the actual number of sick people in the outbreak is likely higher, since some people recover without medical care and are noted tested for listeria.
In California, one pregnant woman and here twins were sick, resulting in both infants dying. Only the mother and one of the infants tested positive for listeria.
Yu Shang Food did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Quartz.
The USDA’s Food and Safety Inspection Services (FSIS) began investigating the outbreak after routine testing last month detected listeria in Yu Shang Food products, initiating a smaller recall. The recall was expanded this past Thursday after more testing found listeria in the company’s products and in environmental samples.
The affected products include pork belly, chicken feet, duck wings and beef shank. The recalled products were all produced before Oct. 28.
The FSIS is worried that some of these products might still be sitting in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers. The agency is advising customers to throw away or return any recalled products.
This recall comes just months after Boar’s Head Provisions Co., a deli meat supplier based in Virginia, issued a recall of several deli meat products in late July after they were linked to a multistate listeria outbreak. The recall grew to include millions of pounds of affected products, and Boar’s Head went as far as to shut down a facility with numerous violations. At least 10 people have died in connection with the outbreak, and dozens more required hospitalizations.
Listeria monocytogenes can cause serious listeriosis infections in young children, elderly people, and people with weakened immune systems. The FDA warned that listeria infections could cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
Even among healthy people, a listeria infection can lead to symptoms including high fever, headaches, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.
An estimated 1,600 people in the U.S. get listeriosis every year, with about 260 annual fatalities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
