Personal Injury Law

Tyson Plant Shuttered Due to Listeria

By Bill Marler

A Tyson meat processing plant on Perry Street has been shut down by federal regulators after inspectors found violations during follow-up testing stemming from an August recall of deli meat produced at the Buffalo facility. According to Buffalo News, the plant suspended operations Tuesday after an inspection by the U. S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service, the federal agency said Wednesday.

The shutdown was triggered by the results of sampling that the federal inspectors conducted during a food safety assessment, the agency said. That assessment was linked to the USDA's activities at the Perry Street plant since the deli meat recall, said Gary Mickelson, a Tyson spokesman.

The shutdown is the second blow that the Perry Street plant has suffered in the last two months. In August, about 380,000 pounds of deli meat produced at the plant and sold at Walmart was voluntarily recalled after a sample tested positive for harmful bacteria. In the August recall, a sample of roast beef produced at the plant tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. That bacteria can cause Listeriosis, which leads to fever, muscle aches and nausea.

The plant also had two similar recalls in 2004. Tyson first voluntarily recalled 442 pounds of cooked ham in August 2004 after a sample tested positive for Listeria. In November 2004, the company recalled another 50,000 pounds of hot dogs, prompted by an unspecified customer complaint. There were no reports of consumer illnesses in either case.

Full post as published by Listeria Blog on October 14, 2010 (boomark / email).