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Ready Pac recalls 30 tons of salad; Listeria risk in cheese
Ready Pac Foods Inc. is recalling almost 30 tons of single-serve salad bowls because they contain cheese that the lead company’s supplier has recalled because of Listeria monocytogenes.
The 59,225 pounds of Ready Pac’s “Puro Picante Blazin’ Hot” chicken salad bowls have “use-by” dates through March 4, causing concern that consumers may have the recalled product in their homes.
Three different Ready Pac facilities shipped the salads, which were produced between Jan. 17 and Feb. 17, to retail locations nationwide, according to the recall notice on the USDA’s website.
Anyone who has eaten any of the recalled salads and developed symptoms of Listeria infection should seek medical attention and tell their doctors about the possible exposure to the bacteria.
It can take up to 70 days after exposure for symptoms to develop, so consumers who have eaten the recalled salads are urged to monitor themselves for symptoms in the coming months. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms.
Consumers can identify the recalled Ready Pac brand salad by looking for the following packaging information:
- Puro Picante Blazin’ Hot salad;
- Produced between Jan. 17 and Feb. 17;
- 7.5-ounce single serve salad bowls;
- Use By Dates of 01/31/17 through 03/04/2017; and
- Any of three establishment numbers — P-27497, P-32081 or P-18502B — inside the USDA mark of inspection.
“The problem was discovered on Feb. 21 when the firm received notification from the cheese supplier that the cheese ingredient utilized in the chicken salad products was included in an expanded cheese recall due to potential contamination with L. monocytogenes,” according to the recall notice.
“Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.”
When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service website at www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls. Consumers with questions regarding the recall can contact Mary Toscano, corporate affairs supervisor, at 800-800-7822.
Although the Ready Pac recall did not name the cheese supplier, hundreds of cheeses and other products containing cheese made by by Deutsch Kase Haus LLC have been recalled this month.
Cheese brands involved include Sargento, Sara Lee, Saputo, Dutch Valley and Guggisberg, as well as a variety of store-branded products sold by Meijer, Albertsons, H-E-B and other retailers.
The recalls, which began Feb. 10, stem from a random test conducted by Tennessee inspectors on samples of Amish Classics cheese collected from a retailer and produced by Deutsch Kase Haus LLC of Middleburg, IN. The cheese tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes and Tennessee officials posted a consumer alert.
The Food and Drug Administration is investigating the situation along with officials in several states. However, a clause in the federal code prevents FDA from releasing information about what companies bought cheese from Deutsch Kase Haus because such details are considered “confidential corporate information.”
Editor’s note: For additional information on the related recalls, please see:
- “Another 130 cheese products recalled for Listeria; FDA gagged”
- “Saputa pulls gouda from stores in latest Listeria recall”
- “String of cheese recalls continues, as does Listeria probe”
- “Guggisberg Cheese recalls a dozen products because of Listeria”
- “Sara Lee recalls cheese; 3rd-party plant has history of Listeria”
- “Taylor Farms recalls Signature, HEB salads; Listeria in cheese”
- “UPDATED: Listeria in cheese; recalls by Sargento, Meijer, others”
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Source: http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2017/02/ready-pac-recalls-30-tons-of-salad-listeria-risk-in-cheese/
