Carolina Culinary Foods, a West Columbia, S.C., firm, has issued a nationwide recall for 52,650 pounds of fully cooked chicken breasts produced on Jan. 9, 2007. The meat was manufactured for Oscar Mayer and distributed nationwide to retailers.
Consumers who have a six-ounce package that is labeled "OSCAR MAYER/LOUIS RICH CHICKEN BREAST STRIPS WITH RIB MEAT, GRILLED, FULLY COOKED - READY TO EAT," should look at the package and find out if they have some of the recalled meat.
According to the USDA, each package has the number "P-19676" inside the USDA inspection mark on the front of the package. On the back is a use by date of "19 Apr 2007."
Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis. The symptoms are high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. While healthy people rarely come down with listeriosis, it can infect and even kill people with weak immune systems, including infants and the elderly. It can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths, according to the USDA.
First Coast News of Atlanta, reported on Monday that no cases of illness from the product had been reported so far.
The presence of bacteria was found in testing by food scientists with the Georgia Department of Agriculture, according to First Coast News reports.
Among the tips the USDA gives for people to avoid being infected with listeriosis in general from precooked or read-to-eat food is to eat it as soon as you can. Since listeriosis can grow in the refrigerator, it is important to use an appliance thermometer to make sure your refrigerator is 40° F or lower.
