Perfect Pasta Inc. of Addison, Ill. is recalling about 315 pounds of ready-to-eat roast beef products that were produced on February 6 for possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The recalled product, Gina Fully Cooked Roast Beef With Seasoned Juice, has a lot code number 040615RB and a pack date of 02-06-13 and was distributed throughout Chicago. The establishment number EST. 19829 appears in the USDA mark of inspection area.
Perfect Pasta held most of its products after the problem was discovered, but some may have been cross-contaminated as a result of equipment not being cleaned between production shifts. At this time, the company is not aware of any illnesses associated with this product. Consumers who have already purchased it should not eat it. Listeria can cause serious, life-threatening injury.
Symptoms of a Listeria infection, called listeriosis, can take up to two months after exposure to develop. They include fever and muscle aches, often a a stiff neck and headache. These symptoms are sometimes preceded by gastrointestinal symptoms including diarrhea. Young children, seniors and those with compromised immune systems are most at risk. Listeria poses special risk to pregnant women as it can cause miscarriage and stillbirth.
To reduce your risk of Listeria, FSIS recommends: only eating hot dogs, luncheon meats, bologna or other deli meats that have been reheated to steaming hot; and not eating: refrigerated paté, meat spreads from a meat counter, smoked seafood found in the refrigerated section of the store, salads made in the store such as ham salad, chicken salad, egg salad, tuna salad or seafood salad or soft cheeses such as Feta, quesco blanco, quesco fresco, Brie, Camembert cheeses, blue-veined cheeses and Panela unless it is labeled as made with pasteurized milk. FSIS also advises consumers not to drink raw milk or other unpasteurized beverages.
