Dallas Facility Among Sites Where 6,600-Plus Pounds Of Chicken Salad, Pork Products Recalled

DALLAS, TX — A pair of Taylor Farms facilities, including one in Dallas, are recalling more than 6,600 pound of chicken salad and pork products that federal regulators say be be adulterated with Listeria, federal regulators said on Saturday.

The Salinas, Calif.-based Taylor Farms facilities affected by the recall are in Dallas and Tracy, Calif., according to U.S. Department of Agriculture officials. The affected products were produced and packaged between Feb. 6-9 and sold under the Signature Cafe and the H-E-B brands. The following food items are subject to the recall.

• 10.5 oz. plastic trays of “Signature Cafe Southwest Chicken Premade Salad” with the following “USE BY” dates: “2/13/17, 2/14/17 or 2/15/17."
• 10.5 oz. plastic trays of “Signature Café Southwest Style Salad with Chicken” with the following “USE BY” dates: “2/14/17, 2/15/17 or 2/16/17.”
• 10.5 oz. plastic trays of “H-E-B Shake Rattle & Bowl Rowdy Ranch Hand (contains pork)” with the following “USE BY” dates: “2/17/17, 2/18/17 or 2/19/17.”

The products subject to recall bear either establishment number M/P-34013 or M/P-34733 inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to various distribution centers in six cities, including three in Texas: Houston, Roanoake and San Antonio. The other cities to which potentially tainted products were shipped are Los Angeles, Tracy, Calif. and Portland, Ore.

While only a small percentage of people who ingest Listeria monocytogenes bacteria develop symptoms, others — particularly older adults, people with weakened immune systems and pregnant women along with their newborns — are more likely to become infected.

Listeriosis can cause a state of confusion, convulsions, fever, headache, loss of balance, muscle aches and stiff neck sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms as an invasive infection spreads beyond the gastrointestinal tract.

Pregnant women are among the most vulnerable. The infection can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery or life-threatening infection of the newborn. Additionally, serious and sometimes fatal infections can occur in older adults and people with weakened immune systems.

Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics. Those in the higher-risk categories experiencing flu-like symptoms within two months after eating contaminated food should seek medical care and tell the health care provider about eating the contaminated food, USDA officials suggested.

Officials with the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) advise consumers to reheat ready-to-eat product until steaming hot.

Inspectors discovered the possible Listeria in the recalled products on Feb. 10 after a officials at Sargento Foods, Inc., which supplies Bevel Shred Pepperjack cheese products to the Taylor Farms establishments, alerted to the issue. Cheese products are being recalled by Sargento Foods, Inc. out an abundance of caution due to potential contamination, officials noted.

Consumers who have purchased these aforementioned products are urged not to consume them. Instead, these products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

FSIS officials provided the following tips for safe consumption:

• Wash hands with warm, soapy water before and after handling raw meat and poultry for at least 20 seconds. Wash cutting boards, dishes and utensils with hot, soapy water. Immediately clean spills.
• Do not eat hot dogs, luncheon meats, bologna or other deli meats unless reheated until steaming hot.
• Do not eat refrigerated paté, meat spreads from a meat counter or smoked seafood found in the refrigerated section of the store. Foods that do not need refrigeration, such as canned tuna and canned salmon, are safe to eat. Refrigerate after opening.
• Do not drink raw (unpasteurized) milk and do not eat foods that have unpasteurized milk in them.
• Do not eat salads made in the store, such as ham salad, chicken salad, egg salad, tuna salad or seafood salad.
• Do not eat soft cheeses, such as Feta, queso blanco, queso fresco, Brie, Camembert cheeses, blue-veined cheeses and Panela, unless it is labeled as made with pasteurized milk.
• Use precooked or ready-to-eat food as soon as you can. L. monocytogenes can grow in the refrigerator. The refrigerator should be 40º F or cooler and the freezer 0º F or colder Use an appliance thermometer to check the temperature of your refrigerator.

Consumers with food safety questions can "Ask Karen," the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov or via smartphone at m.askkaren.gov. 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.

Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day. The online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/reportproblem.

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