The USDA has issued a public health alert over recalled frozen ready to eat fried chicken and pork sausage products produced by Pinnacle Foods of Tennessee. They are Hungry Man Selects Boneless Fried Chicken & Waffles, and Aunt Jemima French Toast and Sausage These products have been recalled because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria, since it was found in the plant where they were produced. No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.
The recalled products were produced from February 4, 2016 to May 4, 2017. The include 5.5-ounce individual frozen microwavable dinners containing French toast and a pork sausage patty with “Aunt Jemima FRENCH TOAST AND SAUSAGE” printed on the label with UPC code 051000063915, and 16-ounce individual frozen microwavable dinners containing a waffle and a fried chicken piece with “HUNGRY-MAN Selects BONELESS FRIED CHICKEN & WAFFLES” printed on the label with UPC code 658276202903. They have the establishment number EST. 9132 or P-138 inside the USDA mark of inspection. They were sold in retail locations nationwide.
The company notified FSIS that results from environmental samples received on May 1, 2017 were preliminary for the presence of Listeria. If you purchased these products, throw them away or take them back to the store of purchase for a full refund.
In related news, Pinnacle Foods is discontinuing 16 Aunt Jemima frozen breakfast items, resulting in at least 200 layoffs at their plant in Jackson, Tennessee. The plant will remain open.
If you had these products in your freezer, clean it out with a mild bleach solution to kill any Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. That bacteria can grow at refrigerator temperatures, and freezing doesn’t kill it. Use a solution of 1 tablespoon liquid chlorine bleach to one gallon of hot water. Wash your hands well with soap and water after handling these products.
If you ate any of those recalled products, including those under the jurisdiction of the FDA that were recalled last week, monitor yourself for listeriosis, the illness caused by this bacteria, for the next 70 days. That is how long it can take for symptoms to appear, although most people get sick within a few weeks.
Symptoms of listeriosis include high fever, stiff neck, severe headache, nausea, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea. Pregnant women may only be mildly ill with an illness similar to the flu, but listeriosis can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature labor, and infection in the newborn. If you do feel sick, see your doctor and tell him you ate one of these recalled products.
