The United States Department of Agriculture has found a way to get “downer” cows, BSE, and E.coli out of the news. They are doing it with back-to-back-to-back-to-back recalls due to listeria.
Here goes the list, all issued between March 2-4, 2008 of products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocygenes:
- Meijer Distribution Center, a Grand Rapids, Mich. firm, is voluntarily recalling approximately 2,184 pounds of frozen chicken entrées..
- Costco Wholesale, an Issaquah, Wash. firm, is voluntarily recalling approximately 10,368 pounds of frozen chicken Entrées.
- Inovata Foods, an Edmonton, Alberta firm, is voluntarily recalling approximately 3,780 pounds of frozen chicken Entrées.
- Gourmet Boutique, L.L.C., a Jamaica, N.Y., firm, is voluntarily recalling approximately 6,970 pounds of meat and poultry products.
That adds up to 23,302 pounds of meat and chicken products. That’s far short of the 143.3 million pounds of beef on the recall list from the Chino slaughterhouse. However, unlike the big recall, these are Class 1 recalls with high risk to public health.
So far, there have been no reports of illnesses linked to any of the four recalls. All were prompted by tests conducted by the Food Safety & Inspection Service.
For the precise product descriptions and codes, go to USDA’s Open Federal Cases file. It can be found here.