Another day, another enormous recall of millions of pounds of meat that have been tainted due to listeria contamination. This time, the recall affects dozens of major grocery stores, some of them so big and widespread that there is a very good chance you, the person reading this right now, recently bought some listeria meat from them. This latest outbreak is all thanks to one of the biggest meatpacking companies in America, BrucePac.
BrucePac is recalling 10 million pounds of meat and poultry, as announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. The recall affects a wide range of ready-to-eat items offered at retailers like Target, Kroger, Walmart, Trader Joe’s, and several others. Specifically, ready-to-eat items that were produced between June 9 and October 8. Routine inspection of these products found traces of listeria.
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The range of products affected is wide. From prepackaged salads, chicken-based products from brands like Rao’s, various frozen meals, Trader Joe’s White Meat Chicken Salad, and Target’s Good & Gather salad. The list of products affected is so big that the USDA has released a 326-page document listing all of the contaminated items and their respective retailers so you, the consumer, can know if that prepackaged grocery store salad with bits of chicken breast in it is worthy of consumption or if doing so will blow your ass out.
Thankfully, no illnesses have actually been reported yet. But to keep it that way, the USDA is telling folks to throw away or return any of the affected products if they’ve got them.
Listeria is a bacteria that can cause listeriosis, an infection that could be pretty dangerous to the elderly, pregnant women, or anyone with weakened immune systems. Muscle aches, fever, gastrointestinal issues like the aforementioned blowing out of your ass. It’s a nasty little illness that can be prevented by simply not eating any of the stuff that’s currently being recalled.
It’s been a bad year for food recalls but a great year for listeria. You might remember, or rather, recall, that earlier this year Boar’s Head had a multistate listeria outbreak that resulted in several illnesses and even some deaths linked directly to their tainted deli meats. So don’t take this listeria outbreak lightly. Find out if you currently have any of the tainted ready-to-eat meals so you don’t end up dead, too.