Boston
Salads and Provisions Co. Inc. is recalling about 223,000 pounds of
ready-to-eat chicken salad products due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said Thursday
The products
were produced between Aug. 23 and Oct. 14 and shipped to wholesalers for
distribution to retailers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Click here
to see a list of the products being recalled.
Case labels
or packaging may bear the sell by dates ranging from “9/13/2013” through
“11/4/2013” as well as the establishment number “P-17999” inside the USDA mark
of inspection. Although products included in this recall may be expired, FSIS
is concerned that some product may be frozen in consumer or retail freezers.
The problem
was discovered when the New Hampshire Department of Public Health found that
two samples tested positive for Listeria
monocytogenes.
The
Massachusetts Department of Public Health was alerted to the findings and
tested samples of product, with two testing positive for Listeria monocytogenes. The Massachusetts department
then alerted FSIS of the positive results.
The firm’s
investigation has identified a likely source of the contamination. FSIS is
continuing to work with federal and state public health officials on the
investigation.
FSIS and the
company haven’t received reports of illnesses from consumers who have eaten the
products. Anyone concerned about an illness should contact a healthcare
provider.
Eating food
contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can
cause listeriosis, a serious infection that primarily affects older adults,
persons with weakened immune systems, children, and pregnant women and their
newborns. People outside these risk groups can also be affected.
Listeriosis
can cause fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance,
and convulsions sometimes after people have had diarrhea or other
gastrointestinal symptoms. In pregnant women, the infection can cause
miscarriages or stillbirths.
Consumers
with questions about the recall should contact the Sales Department of Boston
Salads at 617-307-6340, ext. 21.
