NJ Company Recalls Thousands of Pounds of Beef Products Over Bacteria Fears

(USDA)

A New Jersey-based company is recalling thousands of pounds of beef products due to a possible contamination of Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said.

Rich Products Corporation, of Vineland, New Jersey, issued the recall on Jan. 24 and the USDA said that its “ready-to-eat (RTE) frozen beef meatball items were produced on Dec. 17, 2017,” and are now being recalled.

The recall includes “36-lb. cases containing six 6-lb. bags of ‘Member’s Mark Casa DI BERTACCHI ITALIAN STYLE BEEF MEATBALLS’ with a ‘Best if Used By 17 DEC 2018' label and a lot code of 15507351 on the packaging.”

The products subject to recall have the number “EST. 5336” inside the USDA mark of inspection. They were shipped to distributors in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, according to the USDA release.

(USDA)

The issue was discovered on Jan. 24, 2018, when the agency got notification from the company that they shipped adulterated product into commerce.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Listeria monocytogenes causes listeriosis, which is a “serious infection” that sickens “an estimated 1,600 people” every year. Of that figure, 260 die, the CDC said.

“The infection is most likely to sicken pregnant women and their newborns, adults aged 65 or older, and people with weakened immune systems,” the agency adds.

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