Tip Top Poultry of Rockmart, Georgia, is recalling about 135,810 pounds of fully cooked chicken products because they may be adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. There is zero tolerance for this pathogen in ready-to-eat foods.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency notified FSIS on August 17, 2019, that a sample of this company’s product was confirmed positive for the presence of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this issue in the United States.
The recalled product is frozen, diced, and mechanically separated ready-to-eat chicken that was produced on January 21, 2019. The label has “PACK DATE 01/21/19” The products that are recalled are on a spreadsheet provided by the USDA.
The recalled products are Tip Top cooked chicken meat 1 diced natural proportion with case code 15630; Tip Top cooked chicken meat chicken fines, with case code 75130; Tip Top cooked mechanically separated chicken with case code 55150; and Tip Top cooked mechanically separated chicken IFQ pieces with case code 55997.
Also recalled are Perdue natural proportion chicken meat fully cooked, IQF, 1/2″ diced with case code 15313; Gordon all natural diced chicken meat fully cooked with case code 15602; Sysco classic fully cooked 1/2″ diced chicken meat with case code 15347; and West Creek fully cooked 1/2″ diced chicken with case code 16382.
These items have the establishment number “P-17453” inside the USDA mark of inspection. They were shipped to restaurants, hotels, and institutions nationwide.
Canadian public health officials are investigating a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak in that country that is linked to another ready-to-eat diced chicken product. That investigation is ongoing.
Symptoms of listeriosis, the illness caused by this pathogen, include high fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, nausea, and diarrhea. Pregnant women are seriously affected by this pathogen. They can suffer miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature labor if they contract this infection, even if their symptoms are very mild. If you have eaten any of these products and have been sick, see your doctor.
