There are a number of large-scale food recalls going on around the United States, so please check your refrigerator, freezer and pantry before using any of these. Especially since many of the recalled foods are staples like chicken and seafood. Here are the details below.
8.5 Million Pounds of Chicken Recalled
Tyson Foods is initiating a massive chicken recall on 8,492,832 pounds of frozen, ready-to-eat products due to potential listeria contamination. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced the recall on July 3 after three cases of listeriosis, the foodborne illness caused by consuming listeria bacteria, have been connected to Tyson frozen chicken.
According to the FSIS, the chicken recall includes numerous lots of 30 different precooked, frozen chicken products in a variety of preparation styles (such as diced, wings, strips, and pulled, as well as chicken-topped pizza). Most of the items were sold under the Tyson brand, but a few were sold under other brands: Casey’s General Store, Jet’s Pizza, Little Caesars, and Marco’s Pizza. The package sizes range from 12 ounces to 40 pounds, with nearly half of the recalled products being 10-pounds bags of Tyson chicken.
The FSIS first became aware of a potential listeria outbreak on June 9, when the agency received two reports of people sick with listeriosis, according to the recall announcement. The FSIS investigated the illnesses in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state public health officials. The investigators identified three cases of listeriosis total, including one person who died, between April 6 and June 5, 2021. All three cases occurred in people served food at a hospital or long-term care facility, according to the CDC.
The recalled chicken was produced between December 26, 2020, and April 13, 2021, and distributed nationwide to grocery stores, as well as a variety of establishments including restaurants, schools, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and Department of Defense locations, according to the FSIS.
All of the recalled products are stamped with the establishment number “EST. P-7089” on the bag or inside the USDA mark of inspection. The FSIS has a full list of products impacted by the Tyson recall.
The FSIS is particularly concerned about people in vulnerable populations (elderly, young children, pregnant women, etc) getting listeria from recalled chicken products stored in their freezers. So please, double-check your package dates and item numbers before eating them.
Shrimp Recall
Packages of frozen shrimp sold nationwide are being recalled because they may be linked to a salmonella outbreak in at least two states.
Avanti Frozen Foods has issued a recall for certain packages of its frozen cooked, peeled, and deveined shrimp sold in multiple stores under the brand names 365, Censea, Chicken of the Sea, CWNO, Hannaford, Honest Catch, Meijer, Open Acres, and Waterfront Bistro. The shrimp was distributed from December 2020 to February 2021, but it may have been sold more recently than that, according to the CDC There is also concern that some people may still have recalled shrimp in their freezers.
Six people in Nevada and Arizona have been sickened from shrimp distributed by Avanti, including two people who were hospitalized, according to the CDC. Health officials say the first illness was reported in late February, and the actual number of people sickened could be much higher, since it can take weeks to confirm that an illness is related to an outbreak.
Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes deadly infections in kids, elderly adults, and people with a weakened immune system, according to the FDA. Symptoms include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain.
The CDC is urging consumers to throw out affected packages or take them back to the store for a refund.