Massive meat recall: 87,000 pounds of meat recalled over Listeria fears

Anyone who purchased Behrmann Meat and Processing Inc. products recently should know there’s a massive recall in place. The company recalled about 87,382 pounds of various ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products as they might be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. That’s a dangerous bacteria that can cause potentially fatal illness in some people.

Behrmann meat recall

Behrmann announced the recall earlier this week. The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) published the press release at this link.

The agency expects Behrmann to add additional products to the recall in the near future, urging customers to keep checking the list of product labels that are included in the meat recall.

The recall is extensive, with the PDF file showing product labels having 68 pages — you can see it at this link. Separately, the FSIS released a document that lists all the products in Behrmann’s meat recall and the lot numbers. You can access it at this link.

In addition to the lot codes in the PDF file, there’s another identifier to help customers. The products in the recall have the establishment number “EST 20917” printed inside the USDA mark of inspection. Behrmann produced them from July 7th, 2022, to September 9th, 2022.

The company discovered the bacteria contamination through product and environmental testing performed by the FSIS. The processing environment and the products tested positive for Listeria.

Finally, Behrmann customers in Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri might have purchased the products in the meat recall.

Listeria infection risk

The Behrmann recall announcement says there have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions following the consumption of these meat products. But people who still have Behrmann products stock at home are at risk of developing listeriosis.

Listeriosis infections can cause diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. Other symptoms can follow, including fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and even convulsions.

Invasive infections can spread beyond the gastrointestinal tract. Healthy people should recover within a few days. But older people and people with weakened immune systems can risk fatal diseases.

Moreover, Listeria is dangerous to pregnant women. It can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery, and life-threatening infections in a newborn. That’s why health agencies and food manufacturers routinely test for Listeria. And why positive results lead to immediate product recalls.

What you should do

The symptoms of a Listeria infection can appear a few days after eating contaminated products. But it can take up to 30 days for the first signs to show up.

The FSIS urges customers not to eat the Behrmann meat products in this recall. Customers should throw away the products or return them to the place of purchase.

People who experience listeriosis symptoms should seek help from their doctor.

Finally, consumers should keep tabs on the recall press release at this link. That’s all the more critical, considering that the FSIS expects Behrmann to add more products to the list.