Tennessee Firm Recalls Ready-To-Eat Chicken Products for Possible Listeria Contamination

Recall Release CLASS I RECALL
FSIS-RC-031-2007 HEALTH RISK: HIGH

State of Tennessee Cook Chill, a Nashville, Tenn., firm, is voluntarily recalling approximately 2,768 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.

The following products are subject to recall:

* Cases of "BAKED CHICKEN LEG QUARTERS" Each case bears the case code "D257168C" and the establishment number "P-19120" inside the USDA seal of inspection.
* Cases of "OVEN FRIED BREADED CHICKEN LEG QUARTERS, smoke flavor added." Each case bears the case code "D257154C" and the establishment number "P-19120" inside the USDA seal of inspection.

The chicken products were produced on April 25, 2007 and were distributed to correctional and mental health institutions in Tennessee. There was no retail distribution of these products.

The problem was discovered through company testing and FSIS inspection activities. FSIS has received no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of this product.

Consumption of food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease. Healthy people rarely contract listeriosis. However, listeriosis can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. Listeriosis can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths, as well as serious and sometimes fatal infections in those with weakened immune systems, such as infants, the elderly and persons with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy.

Onion firm linked to recall has local ties

Gills Onions, an Oxnard-based company with operations in Monterey County, said none of the onions it voluntarily recalled last week were grown in the Salinas area.

A possible Listeria contamination led the company to recall 45,500 pounds of onions. The onions had been sold to restaurants and Trader Joe's stores in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

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Listeria found in smoked salmon & cheese spread

ATLANTA - Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin announced Saturday that Georgia Department of Agriculture food scientists have found Listeria monocytogenes in a sample of Bright Water Smoked Salmon & Cheese Spread.

The contamination was found in a seven-ounce package marked BEST BY 071007. The UPC code is 1971100073. The spread is manufactured by Bright Water Seafoods, LLC, of Charlotte, N.C. 28217.

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Trader Joe's Diced Yellow Onions Recalled

POSTED: 11:44 am PDT June 20, 2007


Health officials said Listeria was a microorganism that can cause serious or fatal infections in children, the elderly or those with weakened immune systems. It can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women. Healthy adults can experience symptoms including fevers, severe headaches, nausea and diarrhea.

Keep reading here.

Starving Listeria bug of oxygen makes it turn nasty

If the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria behind food poisoning are starved of oxygen, they are liable to turn really nasty according to research published in the online journal BMC Microbiology.

Limiting oxygen produces bacteria up to 100 times more invasive than similar bacteria grown with ample oxygen supplies.

Bjarke Christensen and Tine Licht together with colleagues from Denmark's National Food Institute set out to investigate whether the growth conditions of Listeria bacteria just prior to being eaten had an effect on their virulence once absorbed by the gut. Guinea pigs were fed food laced with L. monocytogenes, grown either in an oxygen-rich atmosphere, or starved of oxygen. The team used fluorescent labelling to tell the bacteria strains apart.

Keep reading here.