Chicken processor recalls nearly 12M pounds of meat over listeria concerns

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Hundreds of food products at major grocery chains, restaurants and schools have been swept up in a massive recall involving close to 12 million pounds of pre-cooked meat and poultry, with federal officials warning more items could be added as they race to understand the full extent of contamination.

BrucePac, an Oregon-based chicken processor, first issued a recall for 9.9 million pounds of poultry and meat products on Oct. 9 after a routine inspection from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found listeria in samples of ready-to-eat poultry. There have yet to be reports of illness or death connected to the recall, which was recently expanded to include another 1.8 million pounds of product.

BrucePac sells its chicken to be further processed or used as ingredients in frozen foods and other ready-to-eat meals, which has made it difficult for the company and USDA officials to understand the full extent of products affected by the recall. The company said in a statement that it does “not have a list of retail products that contain our recalled items.”

The USDA’s current recall list includes prepackaged salads, frozen meals and a variety of other products from a variety of retailers, including physical grocery stores and online meal subscription services. It also encompasses many grocery stores’ private brands, with products from Trader Joe’s, Kroger, 7-Eleven and Amazon Fresh included in the 342-page recall list.

Products affected include those manufactured out of BrucePac’s facility in Durant, Oklahoma, from June 19 through Oct. 8, the company said. Many have “best by” dates well into 2025, according to USDA’s list.

Since the recall was first announced, the list has expanded from 75 products to hundreds. The USDA issued an update on Tuesday to confirm that recalled products were distributed to schools, and the department is working on a full list of affected institutions.

Products subject to recall have numbers “51205 or P-51205” inside or under the USDA mark of inspection. However, consumers will likely not be able to find those numbers on affected products: BrucePac said those labels are only on the packages shipped directly to retailers and other businesses, not on the commercial products themselves.

The USDA is urging consumers to instead rely on its list of affected products, noting that “additional products could be added.”

Consuming food contaminated with listeria can cause listeriosis, an infection that can be fatal in older adults, pregnant women and persons with weakened immune systems. A listeria food poisoning outbreak tied to Boar’s Head deli meat has killed at least 10 people since July and has spurred multiple lawsuits.