Tyson Foods issued one of the largest recalls in the last five years, pulling 8,492,832 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken products that went to schools, restaurants, grocers, hospitals, nursing homes and Department of Defense facilities.
A USDA, CDC and state agency investigation linked the chicken to three listeria illnesses in Texas and Delaware. One of the three people died.
“During routine sample collection, (USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service) collected two precooked chicken samples from two establishments that are closely related genetically to Listeria monocytogenes from ill people,” the USDA recall alert said. “One of the samples was collected at Tyson Foods Inc. FSIS is continuing to work with federal and state public health partners to determine if there are additional illnesses linked to these products.”
Listeria hits about 1,600 Americans each year, the CDC says, and kills about 260. Especially vulnerable are senior citizens, pregnant women, children under 5 and people with damaged immune systems. Consequences of getting listeria include nausea, diarrhea, high fever, severe headaches, stomachaches, stiffness, confusion and poor balance. Listeria also can cause miscarriage and stillbirths.
In addition to Tyson brand foods, the three-page PDF of recalled products includes chicken products made for restaurants Little Caesars Pizza, Marco’s Pizza, Jet’s Pizza and the store brand for Casey’s General Store convenience stores.
If you have any of the recalled food in your freezer or refrigerator, return it to the store of purchase for a full refund.
If you have questions about this recall, call Tyson Foods at 855-382-3101.
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