Meal kits with chicken recalled over listeria concerns

A food manufacturer is recalling a limited number of meal kits, because it includes chicken that may have been contaminated with listeria.

Reser’s Fine Foods issued a voluntary recall for its meal kits that use chicken from BrucePac, an Oklahoma-based company that recalled millions of pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry that may be tainted with listeria. BrucePac on Tuesday expanded its recall to 12 million pounds after the company recalled nearly 10 million pounds last week.

Reser’s Fine Foods said it issued the recall out of an abundance of caution after the kits were distributed across 30 states. However, Reser’s Fine Foods said it is no longer using any ingredients from BrucePac’s affected facility.

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“Consumers who have purchased these kits should not consume any part of the kits; rather, they may return it to the store for a full refund or discard the item,” the company said in its notice.

Reser’s Fine Foods is voluntarily recalling a limited number of meal kits due to the inclusion of recalled chicken from BrucePac. (Reser’s Fine Foods / FDA)

The Department of Agriculture (USDA), which originally posted the recall notice for BrucePac products on Oct. 9, released an updated 343-page document of all the products affected by the recall. This includes hundreds of different items that may contain contaminated meat.

BrucePac’s ready-to-eat meat and poultry items, produced from May 31, 2024, to Oct. 8, 2024, were shipped to other establishments and distributors nationwide before being shipped to restaurants, schools and institutions.

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The recall was initiated by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), an agency of the USDA, after the products tested positive for listeria monocytogenes during routine product testing.

A subsequent FSIS investigation identified BrucePac RTE chicken as the source of the bacteria, which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and people with weakened immune systems.

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According to the FDA, although healthy individuals might only have short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.

Reser’s Fine Foods is voluntarily recalling a limited number of meal kits due to the inclusion of recalled chicken from an outside ingredient supplier (BrucePac). (Reser’s Fine Foods / FDA)

In pregnant women, a listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths, the FDA said.