Health Check
Massive Meat Recall: What You Need to Know
Another day, another massive recall to make us fear our food supply and every bite we take. This time it's more than 324,000 pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products that are possibly contaminated with listeria.
The products at risk are from Buona Vita Inc., out of Bridgeton, N.J., and the list contains everything from meatballs to beef and chicken patties to something called "dinner loaf." They are packaged under a variety of brand names including Argenta Pride, Silver Lake Brand, and more. Here's what you need to know about this recall to keep your family safe.
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1. Check the complete list of products being recalled. Many of them are frozen foods, so be sure and check your freezer so you don't forget and pull something out next month.
2. The problem was found through routine testing, and no one has reported any illness from the products as of yet. So that's at least some good news.
3. Listeria can be serious, and the health risk from this recall is high. Not only can it be deadly (remember the deadly cantaloupe outbreak last year?), but it can also take months for symptoms to show up, so if you have eaten any of these products and feel ill, it's best to check with your health care provider sooner rather than later. Symptoms of listeria infection include fever, muscle aches, nausea, and diarrhea.
4. Consumers with questions about the recall should contact Buona Vita, Inc. at (856) 453-7972 and ask to speak to Junior Vice President of Operations, Paul Infranco.
5. For general food safety questions, the U.S. Food Safety and Inspections Services (FSIS) recommends consumers "Ask Karen," the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov or via smartphone at m.askkaren.gov. Also, the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday.
Do you have any of the recalled products? Do recalls like this make you rethink the food you purchase for your family?
Image via Word Ridden/Flickr
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MIA0223
Glad I don't too. I am pregnant and that's one of the things that are very dangerous to pregnant women!
jessicasmom1
we buy from the local farm .. not the stores
ekralevich
We are in the process of learning to grow our own meat animals and to butcher them. We also hunt and organic farm. I have learned how to can foods. You think this is bad, wait till they figure out what all these chemicals we put into all these animals is doing to our bodies.
mmtosam06
ally
Echo
Brenda Groehler
AmandaSnyder
Hmmm thats why I quit buyinh frozen prepackaged food and try to buy from stores that know their farmers.
SaphronScribble
And this is why I shop from my local cattle rancher at the farmer's market and have greatly reduced (working on 100% eliminating) eating meat from any unknown source. i literally brought my own hamburger meat to a BBQ on friday b/c i don't trust anyone else's meat except Organic Pastures.
kat1116
You know Listeria is a bacteria right and can be found on organic food just as well as non. In fact the deadly outbreak in cantaloupe last year was from an organic farm. I love organics just as much as the next guy but when people try to say it keeps us from getting certain foodborne illnesses there is only so much you can do. In fact certain fertilizers carry more diseases but as long as you wash your produce and cook things thoroughly you should be ok.