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Producer recalls chicken and ham products over listeria contamination

Midwest food retailers may be impacted by another recall of chicken and ham products by Garden-Fresh Foods of Milwaukee, Wis. The company announced last week its recall of 103,080 pounds of ready-to-eat food possibly contaminated with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes. This is the company’s third recall in the last two months.

Garden-Fresh Foods also recalled over 25,000 pounds of similar food products on Sept. 25 and Oct. 17, 2013, because of possible Listeria contamination. The recalled food is all in packages weighing between 6 ounces and 10 pounds and contains chicken or ham. The company distributes its products nationwide under the labels “D’Amico & Sons,” “Grandpa’s” and “Archer Farms.”

The Centers for Disease Control says Listeria can result in listeriosis, an infection with fever and body aches. Listeriosis mainly poses a risk to pregnant women, infants, older adults and people with weakened immune systems. According to a CDC estimate, about 1,600 illnesses and 260 deaths occur from listeriosis each year.

So far, no illnesses have been reported to the Food Safety and Inspection Service or Garden-Fresh Foods.

Sept. 25 was the first time the company’s production line tested positive for Listeria. Nick Biulio, a spokesman for Garden-Fresh Foods, says the company is working closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture following the recent recalls.

“We directly inform our customers the morning the recall goes out,” Builio said. “And most of the product is able to be recalled and disposed of at the retail site within 24 to 48 hours.”

Garden-Fresh Foods is not the only company in America to recall products because of possible Listeria contamination. Reser’s Fine Foods of Beaverton, Ore., is expanding its recall from last week of 100,000 cases of refrigerated food to more products containing meats.

For more information about the recall, visit the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s website. 

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