Major meat processors have recalled about 10 million pounds of cooked beef and chicken over concerns that it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, according to the federal government.
Bluespac, a Durant, Oklahoma-based company whose brand names include “Urban Blues'' and “City Grillers,'' sells instant products manufactured between June 19 and October 8 of this year, according to the department. announced a recall of 9,986,245 pounds of the product. Agriculture and Food Safety and Inspection Service.
“These products were shipped to other facilities and distributors across the country and then distributed to restaurants and establishments,” the agency said in a statement Wednesday.
The USDA said it discovered the problem after conducting routine inspections of poultry products. The test came back positive for Listeria monocytogenes, a type of bacteria that can cause infections and, in severe cases, be fatal.
Food regulators investigated the matter further and found that the bacteria had been detected on the cooked chicken.
As of Thursday, there were no confirmed reports of Listeria infections caused by consuming meat from Bluespack.
The United States Department of Agriculture Complete list of recalled products.
“Restaurants, establishments, and other establishments are asked not to serve or use these products,” the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service said Wednesday.
“These products should be discarded or returned to the place of purchase.”
Meanwhile, a California-based cheese and dairy company was ordered by the government to halt production after an investigation found that two people had died from consuming products contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
The Department of Justice announced Wednesday that Rizzo-Lopez Foods of Modesto, California, will cease operations.
The company specializes in Mexican-style cheese and other dairy products and previously operated under several brand names, including “Don Francisco” and “La Mexicana.”
In June 2014, a listeria outbreak hospitalized 23 people in 11 states. Two of them died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The source of the outbreak was determined to be a Rizzo-Lopez product.
A California resident died from Listeria monocytogenes in 2017, according to the CDC. A new fatal crash was reported in Texas in 2020.
In January, Hawaii officials detected traces of listeria in a sample of Rizzo Brothers' aged cotija, prompting the CDC and Food and Drug Administration to reopen the investigation.
The following month, the government announced a limited recall, expanding the scope to more than 60 products sold nationwide.
Food safety has been in the headlines in recent weeks after the nation's most famous brand of deli meat was found to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
The Listeria outbreak that led to the closure of the massive Boar's Head Deli Meat Project in Virginia has sickened at least 10 people and dozens more in 19 states.
The plant has not been operating since late July, when USDA officials halted inspections and the company recalled more than 7 million pounds of deli meat due to possible contamination.
