More than 21,200 pounds of Marketside brand frozen pizza have been recalled due to possible listeria contamination, the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service recently announced.
RBR Meat Company Inc. recalled its Marketside supreme pizza, which may have been “adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes,” per FSIS. The frozen goods (made Feb. 23, 2017 by the California-based meat company) were sold at select Walmart stores in a 50.6-oz. box containing single shrink-wrapped 16-inch pizzas labeled as “Marketside Extra Large Supreme Pizza,” with lot code 20547.
Multiple outlets report that the pizzas were distributed in select Walmart stores in California, Colorado, Nevada, Washington state, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, Alaska and Hawaii.
This recall is a Class I recall, which means it is “a health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death,” the USDA reports.
No illnesses tied to the recall had been reported as of March 15, according to FSIS.
Listeria can cause a serious infection (also called listeriosis) that poses a significant risk to older adults, people with weakened immune systems, pregnant women and their newborns. Symptoms include: fever, muscle aches, nausea, diarrhea. If the infection worsens, it can also spread to the nervous system causing stiff neck, confusion, and convulsions.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that about 1,600 cases are reported in the United States each year, resulting in 260 deaths.
Recently, federal health officials announced an unrelated recall of soft raw milk cheese made by Vulto Creamery due to a listeria outbreak responsible two deaths as well as four other related illnesses. including two deaths.
In February 2017, Sargento Foods had a listeria scare of its own, recalling several which prompted the company to cut ties with one of its suppliers, CNN reported at the time.
Consumers who bought the recalled pizzas are urged to throw them away or return them to the place of purchase, the agency said.
For more information, call RBR Meat at 323-826-2144, ext. 190.