The Food and Drug Administration has issued a food recall for Reser's Fine Foods of Beaverton, Ore. after 109,000 cases of ready-to-eat products may have been contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
"Listeria is an organism which can cause serious and sometime fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and individuals with weakened immune systems," the FDA said in a news release. "Healthy people may suffer only short term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant woman."
The ready-to-eat products from their Topeka, Kan. location were distributed across the U.S. and Canada. Do not consume packages from marked with a Use-by-Date or Best By Date and followed by a plant identifier code of 20.
Check out the FDA's full recall list of recalled products here.
Also be sure check the USDA's full list recalled of products here.
The food products recalled by the FDA and USDA include anywhere from poultry and harm to packaged salads.
"The problem was discovered through microbiological testing by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency," the USDA explained in a news release. "A traceback investigation and follow-up testing by FDA at the facility determined there was potential cross contamination of products with Listeria monocytogenes from product contact surfaces. FSIS and the company have not received reports of illnesses due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an illness should contact a healthcare provider."
The USDA classified the recall as Class I, meaning it is a "health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death," according to the news release.
Consumers with questions about the recall are urged to contact the Reser's Fine Foods Consumer Hotline at 1-888-257-7913 (8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Eastern Time) or visit FDA.gov for more info.
