Meat recall expands to 13 states
| NEW ORLEANS
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says a Louisiana-based聽meat聽packing company has expanded a聽recall聽of聽meat聽products because of possible bacterial contamination. No illnesses have been reported
The Manda Packing Company聽recall聽announced this past week now includes 468,000 pounds of roast beef, ham, turkey breast, tasso pork, ham shanks, hog headcheese, corned beef, and pastrami.
The agriculture department said Friday the products were聽recalled聽because of possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.
The products were shipped to retailers in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service listed eight types of聽meat聽sold under 41 different names with various "sell by" dates. Its news release said some of the products may have been sliced at retail delis, and if so will not bear packaging information.
A statement posted Saturday on company's website says the聽recalled聽meats聽were produced at Manda's facility in Baker, La. between Feb. 27 and April 9.
The USDA said eating food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease.
"Healthy people rarely contract listeriosis," the statement said. But the disease can be serious and sometimes fatal for those with weakened immune systems, and it can cause miscarriages and stillbirths.
"We are committed to work with USDA in reviewing and enhancing our food safety system so we can continue to ensure that our products are safe, wholesome and worthy of our brand name," Josh Yarborough, director of quality assurance for Manda, said in Saturday's statement.
