Listeria Threat Forces Houston-Based Company To Issue Food Recall

HOUSTON — The U.S Department of Agriculture and Great American Marketing, Inc. in Houston announced a recall of approximately 3,329 pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry wrap, and salad products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, the USDA announced Tuesday.

The ready-to-eat wrap and salad meat, and poultry products were produced between March 27 and April 8. The following products are subject to recall:

• 9.25-oz. plastic sealed cartons containing “corner store market CAESAR SALAD WITH GRILLED CHICKEN & CAESAR DRESSING” with sell by dates of 04/09/19 through 04/15/19.
• 10.25-oz. plastic sealed cartons containing “corner store market CHEF SALAD TURKEY, HAM & CHEESE, WITH RANCH DRESSING” with sell by dates of 04/09/19 through 04/15/19.
• 8.1-oz. plastic sealed cartons containing “corner store market CLUB WRAP Turkey, Ham, Roast Beef, Bacon Bits & Cheese” with sell by dates of 04/08/18 through 4/20/19.
• 7.4-oz. plastic sealed carton containing “corner store market CHICKEN CAESAR WRAP Chicken Strips & Cheese with Caesar Dressing” with sell by dates of 04/08/18 through 4/20/19.

These items were shipped to retail locations in Texas, but the problem was not discovered until routine testing by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed positive for the presence of L. monocytogenes.

Officials said so far, there have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions from consumers who may have eaten these products.

Click here to view product labels.

Consumption of food contaminated with L. monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, a serious infection that primarily affects older adults, persons with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women and their newborns.

Listeriosis can cause:

• fever
• muscle aches
• headache
• stiff neck
• confusion
• loss of balance
• convulsions sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms.

An invasive infection spreads beyond the gastrointestinal tract and can be much more serious for pregnant women, and could cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery or life-threatening infection of the newborn.

Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics. 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.

Consumers with questions regarding the recall can contact Bill Welch, Vice President of Operations, Great American Marketing, Inc., at (713) 682-6471. The online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/reportproblem.

Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider.

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