USDA Recalls Nearly 10 Million Pounds of Ready-To-Eat Meat
Check your fridge for poultry that may be ‘adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes.’
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If you’re a consumer of ready-to-eat (or ready-to-heat) meat and poultry products — a store-bought Caesar salad with chicken, say, or a pre-packed chicken wrap sandwich or heat-and-eat chicken enchilada — you’ll want to pay attention to a massive new nationwide recall. It affects products sold under labels ranging from 7-Eleven and Giant Eagle to Taylor Farms, Trader Joe’s and Wegmans, as well as a host of other brands.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has announced that the Oklahoma-based outfit BrucePac is recalling nearly 10 million pounds (around 9,986,245 pounds, to be more exact) of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products due to concern that they may be “adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes.”
In the realm of recalls, this one is relatively far-reaching — because the ready-to-eat meat and poultry items, which were produced between June 19, 2024, and October 8, 2024, were shipped to companies and distributors across the country and then further distributed to other retailers, restaurants, institutions and establishments.
The current list of affected products and product labels can be found here, but note that updates are ongoing and further information “will be provided when available,” according to the USDA.
You can — and definitely should — also check the labels of ready-to-eat meat or poultry products you may have in your possession or see on store shelves. The recalled products have the establishment numbers "51205 or P-51205" within or beneath the USDA mark of inspection.
Yes, there’s concern that the affected products may still be on retail shelves or still being served or otherwise available to consumers in restaurants, institutions and other establishments. They may also be in refrigerators in homes.
The USDA is urging all restaurants, institutions, stores and establishments not to serve, use or sell the recalled products, and to throw them away or return them to wherever they were purchased. Consumers, too, should throw away or return any recalled product they have in their possession. And if you are concerned that you may have become ill as a result of consuming one of the recalled products, you are urged to contact a healthcare provider.
So far, no reports of adverse reactions from consumption of the recalled products have been confirmed.
Listeriosis, which can result from consuming food contaminated with L. monocytogenes, can cause symptoms including “fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms,” according to the USDA. Generally, it can be treated with antibiotics.
Sometimes the infection is invasive, meaning it spreads beyond the gastrointestinal tract. The risk of this more serious infection is higher in older adults and people with weakened immune systems, for whom infections can sometimes be fatal.
Listeriosis is also especially dangerous for pregnant women and newborn babies. The infection can lead to miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery or life-threatening infection of the newborn.
“Persons in the higher-risk categories who experience flu-like symptoms within two months after eating contaminated food should seek medical care and tell the health care provider about eating the contaminated food,” the USDA says.
The issue was discovered during routine product testing by the USDA FSIS, which later confirmed that the source of the Listeria monocytogenes was contaminated BrucePac ready-to-eat chicken.
Consumers with food safety questions can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-MPHotline (888-674-6854) or send a question via email to MPHotline@usda.gov. To report a problem with a meat, poultry or egg product, you can access the online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System 24 hours a day here.
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