Personal Injury Law

SuperTarget Stores Hit By Meat And Poultry Recall

By Jane Akre

A Queens, New York-based meat and poultry recall is reaching into the shelves of SuperTarget's Archer Farms brand across the country.

Gourmet Boutique has recalled 286,000 pounds of meat because of a possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination.  

Listeria is a food- borne bacteria that can cause listeriosis which can be fatal in the very young and very old who have compromised immune systems.  It can also cause headaches, nausea and neck stiffness. Listeriosis can also lead to miscarriages and it can be carried in food even if it is refrigerated.  

It gets into food from vegetables grown in manure used as fertilizer. Listeria is killed by pasteurization and cooking unless the ready-to-eat food is contaminated after cooking but before packaging.

30 items are listed in the recall including sandwiches sold under Gourmet Boutique brand including Curry Chicken Salad, Gourmet Boutique Turkey club Twister and Jan's Buffalo Bob tortilla wrap sandwiches. Frozen wraps and burritos sold under the name Jan's and Archer Farms, sold by SuperTarget are included in the voluntary recall. 

A spokeswoman tells Newsday that that brand is found only in SuperTarget stores, not regular Target stores and the chain began removing products from the shelves as soon as the USDA issued the recall.  

Federal food inspectors and Florida agriculture inspectors found the Listeria on some products and notified the USDA on Friday. It issued a Class I recall, the highest priority issued by the agency issued when a "reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death" according to a statement.    

SuperTarget stores carry the 15-ounce packages of Archer Farms Frozen Mini Beef Burrito;  the 9-ounce packages of Archer Farms Frozen Pulled Pork Burrito; and the 9-ounce packages of Archer Farms Grilled Chicken Burrito With Corn and Black Beans.

The fresh products were made between April 19 and 24^th.  The frozen products were produced between Oct. 23, 2007, and April 23, 2008.  Look for a "sell by" date that runs through October.

This is the second recall in two months for the Queens food company.  In March the company had to recall nearly 7,000 pounds of food sent to 10 states because of a possible Listeria contamination.

Gourmet Boutique of Jamaica, Queens calls itself "America's leading manufacturer of high-quality, ready-to-eat prepared foods."

If you are at risk for Listeria contamination, the USDA recommends you wash your hands with warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling raw meat and poultry.

Also wash your cutting board and any dishes and utensils with hot, soapy water and keep raw meat away from other foods that will not be cooked.  Do not eat hot dogs or other deli meats unless they are reheated until steaming hot, the USDA recommends.  #

Full post as published by InjuryBoard on May 05, 2008 (boomark / email).