School children could be at risk of listeria infection connected to the recall of millions of pounds of contaminated meat and poultry, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Tuesday that the meat had been distributed to schools.
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) also stated that the recall involves nearly 12 million pounds of meat, rather than the 10 million pounds previously reported.
The recalled products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, bacteria that can cause serious or fatal infection in some people, especially older adults, people with compromised immune systems, and pregnant women and their babies.
The FSIS has given the recall its highest risk level: Class I, which its website defines as “a health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.”
The recall was initially announced after listeria was found by the FSIS during routine testing on a product that contained ready-to-eat chicken, provided by Oregon-based BrucePac, and further investigation confirmed that the chicken was the source of the contamination.
BrucePac supplies meat and poultry products to a variety of retailers, brands and establishments—including restaurants, schools and stores—many of which use the products in prepared foods.
The FSIS has expressed concern that these products could be in schools, restaurants and other institutions, and could be sitting in consumer’s refrigerators and freezers.
Which schools, and how many, might be affected by the recall is not yet available—but the FSIS has released information about the retail locations involved.
The FSIS is urging that any recalled products should not be served, but should be thrown away or returned to their place of purchase.
Listeria is a strain of bacteria that can cause listeriosis infection, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has listed as the third leading cause of death from food-borne illnesses in the U.S., responsible for approximately 260 deaths each year.
Symptoms of listeriosis usually appear within 24 hours of eating contaminated food, and include diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
However, the infection can take weeks to appear, and can spread beyond the gut, leading to more symptoms such as fever, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions.
Listeriosis can lead to pregnancy complications, including miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery, or the life-threatening infection of the baby.
The affected products were produced by BrucePac between May 31, 2024, and October 8, 2024, in BrucePac’s Oklahoma facility, after which they were distributed across the U.S., to be sold, served, or used in other products.
The recalled meats may bear the establishment numbers 51205 or P-51205 inside or under the USDA mark of inspection, but the FSIS clarified on Friday that some recalled products may bear different establishment numbers, depending on how they were distributed and processed.
Newsweek has recently reported that the recall affects a number of major grocery chains, including Walmart, Kroger, Target, Amazon Fresh, Aldi and Trader Joe’s.
The FSIS has released a full list of the products affected: a 345-page searchable document, with pictures of product labels and additional information so customers can check whether a product is safe.
A separate recall of Reser’s Fine Foods taco kits was also announced earlier this week because the company used BrucePac as its supplier.
Newsweek has approached BrucePac and the FSIS for comment.
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