Health Law

Another recall to report: prosciutto due to listeria contamination

By Drew Falkenstein

Good timing on the release today of the Marler Clark food safety guide for parents on listeria monocytogenes.  Today, Orlando Greco and Son Imports, an Illinois company, recalled 822 pounds of prosciutto products due to potential contamination by listeria monocytogenes.  From the FDA's notice on the prosciutto recall: 

Orlando Greco & Son Imports, a Carol Stream, Ill., establishment, is recalling approximately 822 pounds of prosciutto products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The problem was discovered by FSIS microbiological testing of imported product resulting in a positive sample for Listeria monocytogenes. FSIS was notified by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency that the implicated product was also distributed to an Importer of Record and further distributed, thus resulting in this recall. FSIS has received no reports of illness as a result of consuming this product.

The following products are subject to recall: 

               *  Various pound cases of "Prosciutto Boneless Casa Italia"

The products were distributed to restaurants and retailers in Illinois and Indiana.

Listeriosis is a serious infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium called Listeria monocytogenes. Although there are other types of Listeria, most cases of listeriosis are caused by Listeria monocytogenes. Listeria is found in soil and water. Vegetables can become contaminated from the soil or from manure used as fertilizer. Animals can carry the bacterium without appearing ill and can contaminate foods of animal origin, such as meats and dairy products. Listeria has been found in a variety of raw foods, such as uncooked meats and unpasteurized (raw) milk or foods made from unpasteurized milk. Listeria is killed by pasteurization and cooking; however, in certain ready-to-eat foods, like hot dogs and cold cuts from the deli counter, contamination may occur after cooking but before packaging.

Full post as published by Food Poison Blog on May 05, 2010 (boomark / email).