Diced cooked chicken distributed at Florida food banks through the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box program is under a public health alert for possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The chicken was packaged into individual food boxes. The USDA has issued a public health alert about this problem. About 130,860 pounds of the product is affected.
The frozen, fully cooked, diced chicken items were packaged on January 25, 2021, January 26, 2021, March 23, 2021, and March 24, 2021. The distributor of this chicken is Big Daddy Foods, Inc. of Houston, Texas. The products subject to the public health alert are:
4 pound plastic bags containing “FULLY COOKED CHICKEN MEAT ¾ DICED WHITE” with code 13530, Establishment number P-18237, and pack dates of “01/25/2021” and “01/26/2021.”
4 pound plastic bags that contain “FULLY COOKED CHICKEN MEAT DARK/WHITE ¾ DICED” with code 16598, Establishment number P-45638, and pack dates “24/MAR/2021” and “23/MAR/2021.”
These products have the establishment numbers “P-18237” or “P-45638” inside the USDA mark of inspection. The chicken was distributed between February 25, 2021 through March 1, 2021; and March 29, 2021 through April 8, 2021 at temporary locations.
The problem was discovered during routine USDA inspection activities when personnel observed that products that required recooking due to possible Listeria contamination had been repackaged without being recooked. An investigation revealed that other affected product had been distributed to consumers. There have been no reports of adverse reactions reported to date in connection with the consumption of this item.
If you have this chicken in your home, do not eat it. Throw it away after first double bagging it, into a secure garbage can with a tight fitting lid so other people can’t access it.
Symptoms of listeriosis, the illness caused by this pathogen, can take up to 70 days to appear. Symptoms can include a high fever, stiff neck, severe headache, muscle aches, loss of balance, diarrhea, and nausea. Pregnant women can suffer miscarriage or stillbirth if they contract this infection. If you experience these symptoms or flu-like symptoms within two months after eating this chicken, see your doctor as soon as possible.
