Listeria Outbreak Claims Infant’s Life: Ready-to-Eat Meat And Poultry Recalled Nationwide

 Ready-to-eat meat and poultry products sold by Yu Shang Food have been recalled after causing a listeria outbreak spanning four states, causing 11 illnesses and the death of an infant, federal health officials announced, marking the latest in a series of listeria scares that have prompted recalls.

Yu Shang Food of Spartanburg, S.C., said Friday it would recall more than 72,000 pounds of meat and poultry products—including pork belly, chicken feet, duck neck and beef shank—produced before Oct. 24 because of possible listeria contamination, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.

At least 11 people were sickened with listeria as of Friday, resulting in nine hospitalizations and the death of an infant, according to the CDC, which noted the true number of sickened people is likely higher as the outbreak may expand to more states.

Illnesses were reported between October 2021 and July 2024 in California, Illinois, New York and New Jersey, though Yu Shang Food sold the products to retail locations nationwide and online, according to the Department of Agriculture.

Listeria was detected in Yu Shang Food’s products last month, resulting in an initial recall on Nov. 9 that was expanded on Thursday, according to the CDC, which published images of the labels of affected foods.

Ling Li, a plant manager at Yu Shang Food, told the New York Times the company had taken corrective action to prevent future contamination.

A spate of listeria warnings has touched frozen breakfast foods, poultry products and smoked salmon and other products over the last month, following an outbreak in Boar’s Head deli meat over the summer that killed 10 people and sickened dozens more. The discovery of products that tested positive for listeria at a BrucePac facility in Oklahoma led to the recall of nearly 12 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry items in early October, and Fresh Express issued a follow up recall of salad kits containing BrucePac meats. Since then, a recall of frozen waffles and pancakes from TreeHouse Foods impacted dozens of brands, Costco recalled its smoked salmon and Sprouts Farmers Market issued a recall of its Chicken Street Taco Meal kits, all due to potential listeria contamination. Earlier this month, CIBUS Fresh and Savencia Cheese recalled their pre-made turkey sandwiches and cheeses, respectively, after Savencia Cheese—which provides a cheese used by CIBUS Fresh in its sandwiches—found some of its equipment was potentially contaminated with listeria.

Darin Detwiler, a food safety adviser and Northeastern University professor, explained to Eater that an increasing reliance on pre-packaged, cold storage items in the food supply is leading to more listeria contamination. Impacted products with longer shelf lives have more time to grow listeria as they sit on the shelves, he said, and the longer things are kept in storage in stores or at home, the more listeria can grow (the listeria bacteria can survive refrigeration and even freezing, making it difficult to eradicate once found). President-elect Donald Trump also deregulated parts of the food safety system during his first term, which led to a fall in Food and Drug Administration enforcement, Bloomberg noted. After lead-tainted cinnamon found its way into millions of applesauce pouches earlier this year, The New York Times blamed "an overstretched F.D.A. and a food-safety law that gives companies, at home and abroad, wide latitude on what toxins to look for and whether to test." Following the deadly outbreak of listeria linked to Boar’s Head products, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, said the USDA, which oversees meat and egg production, "took no action" despite finding serious violations at the company's facilities.

What Is Listeria?

Listeria is the foodborne illness contracted by those who eat food contaminated with the listeria monocytogene bacteria, most often found in processed meats and unpasteurized milk products. The bacteria spreads easily among deli equipment, surfaces, hands and food, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and people who eat contaminated food can develop a listeriosis infection. Such an illness doesn’t make most people seriously sick, but it can disproportionately impact people older than 65, newborns and pregnant women. Pregnant women are 18 times more likely to get listeriosis than other healthy adults.