Saturday, October 12

Millions of pounds of deli meat have been recalled after a massive listeria outbreak linked to numerous products, and this comes just after another huge outbreak earlier this year.

BrucePac, a pre-cooked meat producer, announced that they were recalling almost 10 million pounds of their meat over listeria concerns, and many of the contaminated products are still on grocery store shelves or in customer refrigerators-- manufacturing dates for some of the products are as late as October 8. The affected foods include various chicken items, such as tenders, strips, and patties, in addition to a small number of beef products.

Listeria, a parasitic bacteria, causes a potentially dangerous disease known as listeriosis, which usually leads to fever, muscle aches, headache, fatigue, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. However, in severe cases, several life-threatening symptoms can occur, such as sepsis (a complication in the response to the infection), meningitis (inflammation of the brain and spinal cord), and encephalitis (inflammation of brain tissues), as well as issues with pregnancy. Symptoms of a possibly severe side effect of the infection include a stiff neck, seizures, and confusion.

Individuals with weakened immune systems, such as newborns and elders, are most at risk. Unfortunately, listeriosis is an extremely dangerous disease-- it has a high mortality rate of around 20-30%. In addition, it is tough to know whether you have it or not; symptoms of an infection can begin as soon as a few hours after eating the contaminated food, while symptoms in other cases don't show up for months.

This recall comes just after one of the United States' worst listeria outbreaks in history, in which 57 people were hospitalized and 9 people died. The outbreak began at a Boar's Head plant in Jarratt, Virginia, with contaminated deli meats being sent from that facility all over the nation.

Operations at the Virginia plant were completely stopped soon after the outbreak, and inspections by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) found countless violations in the plant. According to CBS News, the facility had a history of violations-- inspectors had called them out earlier in the year for numerous issues. Inspectors found leftover meat lying on various surfaces in previous months, and they discovered a large amount of mold and mildew building up in several areas in July. Over the summer, inspectors found multiple problems with leaking water, resulting in puddles and the growth of algae. In July, an inspector reported seeing a fan blowing that algae onto the meat being prepared. In June, inspectors found flies and other "gnat-like insects" buzzing around the plant, in addition to a beetle, a cockroach, and scores of ants. Back in February, one inspector reported seeing large amounts of blood on the floor and a horrible smell coming from one area, adding onto the violations.

To stop the spread, customers are being instructed to check their fridges for the affected meats and wipe down all surfaces that may have touched the food; while listeria is not transmissible from person to person, the disease spreads easily on any surface that food touches. This also goes for the BrucePac outbreak-- when in doubt, throw it out.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Crocodiles can go through up to 4,000 teeth over the span of their entire lifetime.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things. (Leonardo da Vinci)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Scapegoat (noun)- A scapegoat is a person who is unfairly blamed for something others have done.

In a Sentence: The CFO was made the scapegoat for the company’s failures.