The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service or FSIS has issued a public health alert against SK Food Group’s ready-to-eat or RTE poultry burrito products that contains recalled dairy products from Rizo-Lopez Foods.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration or FDA regulated dairy products from Rizo-Lopez were called back recently for potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, after they were linked to the ongoing Listeria outbreak.
The products subject to the public health alert include 10.53-oz. individual wax paper packages containing “amazon kitchen, CHICKEN CHILI VERDE burrito with rice, black beans & monterey jack” with BEST BEFORE Julian dates starting with 0764, 1384, 1394, and 2694.
The impacted product is packaged in boxed cases labeled as “CHICKEN CHILE VERDE BURRITO WITH RICE, BLACK BEANS & MONTEREY JACK” with production dates 6/20/23, 8/21/23, 8/22/23, and 12/30/23, and with expiration dates of 3/16/24, 5/17/24, 5/18/24, and 9/25/24.
The RTE poultry burrito items were produced on various dates between June 20, 2023, and December 30, 2023, and bear establishment number “P-20552” inside the USDA mark of inspection on the case label. These items were shipped to retail locations nationwide.
The firm notified FSIS that they used FDA-regulated cotija cheese that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes to produce burrito products.
Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, a serious infection that primarily affects older adults, persons with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women and their newborns. Listeriosis can cause fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions. Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics.
However, there have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products to date.
FSIS noted that the alert has been issued to ensure that consumers are not taking these products.
The ongoing multi-year, multistate outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections, which caused 26 illnesses with 23 hospitalizations in 11 states, are linked to queso fresco and cotija cheeses manufactured by Modesto, California -based Rizo Lopez.
The outbreak includes cases dating back to 2014 and is currently ongoing. CDC investigated this outbreak in 2017 and 2021.
The CDC and FDA reopened the investigation in January 2024 after new illnesses were reported in December 2023. The whole genome sequencing analysis of the cotija cheese sample showed that it is the same strain of Listeria that is causing illnesses in this outbreak.
The FDA and CDC, in collaboration with state and local partners, is continuing its investigation into the dairy products produced by Rizo-Lopez Foods.
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