Growers and Grocers

A Baltimore news station, WJZ, is reporting that “Carolina Culinary Food is recalling packages of Oscar Mayer ready-to-eat chicken breast strips with rib meat because they may be contaminated.” The nationwide recall was confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. It covers “all six-ounce packages of ‘Oscar Mayer/Louis Rich chicken breast strips with rib meat, grilled, fully cooked, ready to eat’ that bear the establishment number ‘P-19676′ inside the USDA mark of inspection on the front of the package. On the back of each package is a ‘Use by’ date of ‘19 Apr 2007.’”

The meat was contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, which can cause the rare but potentially fatal listeriosis. Symptoms include high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. The disease can also causes miscarriages and stillbirths. Infants, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems are especially susceptible to the disease. Luckily, no such illness has been reported.

Any questions about the recall can be directed to this hotline: 1-800-871-7117.