Food major Tyson Foods Inc. has expanded its recently announced recall of ready-to-eat or RTE chicken products that may be adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service or FSIS announced that the recall update reflects additional date codes and an increase in product poundage, while the recalled product names and product codes remain the same.
The recall now includes approximately 8.96 million pounds of chicken products, compared to previous recall of 8.49 million pounds.
The recall involves frozen, fully cooked chicken products that were produced between December 26, 2020 and April 13, 2021. The affected items were shipped across the United States to retailers and institutions, including hospitals, nursing facilities, restaurants, schools and Department of Defense locations.
The agency now noted that the product was distributed to schools, but it resulted from a commercial sale and was not part of food provided by the USDA for the National School Lunch Program.
The recall was initiated following reports of persons ill with listeriosis, a serious infection that primarily affects older adults, persons with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women and their newborns.
The FSIS noted that it was notified of two persons ill with listeriosis on June 9, and the agency determined there is evidence linking the Listeria monocytogenes illnesses to precooked chicken produced at Tyson Foods.
Healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, while it can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
The recall by Tyson Foods of its chicken products had forced many other companies to call back related products. Last week, LSG Sky Chefs called back Circle K Brand Chicken Salad Sandwich made with chicken supplied by Tyson Foods.
Albertsons Companies also removed certain food items containing chicken from its shelves after its supplier Tyson Foods recalled those products.
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