The so-far tiny Listeria outbreak behind massive recall of Tyson chicken

• Shipped nationwide to retailers and institutions including hospitals, nursing facilities, restaurants, schools, and Department of Defense locations
• Products include frozen, fully cooked chicken strips, diced chicken, chicken wing sections, and fully cooked pizza with chicken
• Products were sold under many brands including Tyson, Jet’s Pizza, Casey’s General Store, Marco’s Pizza, and Little Caesars
• The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. P-7089” on the product bag or inside the USDA mark of inspection

• Do not serve or sell recalled products.
• Long-term care facilities, hospitals, and other facilities that serve people at higher risk for severe Listeria illness should take extra precautions.
  • Listeria is particularly harmful to people who are 65 years or older, pregnant, or have a weakened immune system.
  • All of the sick people in this outbreak ate foods served at a long-term care facility or hospital.
• Follow USDA-FSIS’s guidanceexternal icon to prevent the spread and growth of Listeria.

• Do not eat any recalled products. Throw them away or return them to where you bought them.
• Follow these five steps to clean your refrigerator, containers, and surfaces that may have touched the recalled products. Listeria can survive in the refrigerator and can easily spread to other foods and surfaces.
• Call your healthcare provider right away if you have these symptoms after eating recalled products:
  • If you are pregnant: Fever and muscle aches. Your illness may be mild, but Listeria can cause pregnancy loss or premature birth. It can also cause serious illness or death in newborns.
  • If you are not pregnant: Headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions, in addition to fever and muscle aches.

About Listeria infections

• Food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes may not look or smell spoiled but can still cause serious and sometimes life-threatening infections. Anyone who has eaten any recalled product and developed symptoms of Listeria infection should seek medical treatment and tell their doctors about the possible Listeria exposure.
• Also, anyone who has eaten any of the recalled products should monitor themselves for symptoms during the coming weeks because it can take up to 70 days after exposure to Listeria for symptoms of listeriosis to develop.
• Symptoms of Listeria infection can include vomiting, nausea, persistent fever, muscle aches, severe headache, and neck stiffness. Specific laboratory tests are required to diagnose Listeria infections, which can mimic other illnesses.
• Pregnant women, the elderly, young children, and people such as cancer patients who have weakened immune systems are particularly at risk of serious illnesses, life-threatening infections, and other complications. Although infected pregnant women may experience only mild, flu-like symptoms, their infections can lead to premature delivery, infection of the newborn, or even stillbirth.

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