Some 286,000 pounds of fresh and frozen meat products have been pulled out of the market over the weekend due to possible contamination with Listeria bacteria, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said.

The Department of Agriculture's food safety arm issued a statement Saturday detailing the Class I recall it gave on fresh and frozen beef, pork, turkey, and chicken products from Gourmet Boutique, a Jamaica, Queens-based food manufacturer

A South Carolina firm is voluntarily recalling chicken breasts strips that could be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Sunday.

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

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declares a combination of six viruses can be safely sprayed on meat and poultry to kill common bacteria.

The mixture of microbes, called bacteriophages, can combat Listeria monocytogenes, which can result in serious infections. The viruses are designed to be sprayed on meat and poultry right before they are packaged