Federal health officials said Friday that a listeria food poisoning epidemic linked to ready-to-eat meat and poultry items, such as chicken feet, duck neck, beef shank, and pork hock, has killed a California baby and sickened at least ten others.
According to the U.S. Agriculture Department, Yu Shang Food, Inc. of Spartanburg, South Carolina, has recalled about 72,000 pounds of meat and poultry items linked to the incident. On November 9, several items were first recalled.
Four states have reported ailments after the meals were distributed to retail locations across the country and made available online. When normal tests found listeria in the goods and the manufacturing environment in October, the issue was identified.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, nine of the 11 individuals who were ill were admitted to hospitals. Laboratory results and interviews with those who were ill indicated that Yu Shang Food products were responsible.
Some of the recalled foods might still be in consumers’ freezers or refrigerators. The goods ought to be thrown away or brought back to the original retailer. Cleaning and sanitization should be done on refrigerators, containers, and other surfaces that may have come into contact with the food.
FILE – This illustration, of an artistic recreation that was based upon scanning electron microscopic (SEM) imagery, depicts a three-dimensional (3D), computer-generated image of a grouping of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. (Jennifer Oosthuizen/CDC via AP, File)
Photographer: Jennifer Oosthuizen/Associated Press
When people consume items tainted with the bacteria, they can contract listeria poisoning. Fever, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are some of the moderate symptoms. Headache, stiff neck, disorientation, loss of balance, and convulsions are some signs of a more serious sickness.
The symptoms of listeria poisoning can appear hours or days after consuming tainted food, making it a challenging illness to treat. However, they may not appear for weeks or even three months. The extremely young, those over 65, those with compromised immune systems, and pregnant women are the groups most at risk of being ill.
This Monday, CDC officials announced the end of another listeria incident linked to recalled Boar’s Head deli meats. This summer, the outbreak infected scores of individuals and killed ten.
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