Louisiana company recalls 468K pounds of meat

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? The U.S. Department of Agriculture says a Louisiana-based meat packing company has expanded a recall of meat products because of possible bacterial contamination. No illnesses have been reported

The Manda Packing Company recall announced this past week now includes 468,000 pounds of roast beef, ham, turkey breast, tasso pork, ham shanks, hog headcheese, corned beef, and pastrami.

The agriculture department said Friday the products were recalled because of possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.

The products were shipped to retailers in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service listed eight types of meat sold under 41 different names with various "sell by" dates. Its news release said some of the products may have been sliced at retail delis, and if so will not bear packaging information.

A statement posted Saturday on company's website says the recalled meats were produced at Manda's facility in Baker, La. between Feb. 27 and April 9.

The USDA said eating food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease.

"Healthy people rarely contract listeriosis," the statement said. But the disease can be serious and sometimes fatal for those with weakened immune systems, and it can cause miscarriages and stillbirths.

"We are committed to work with USDA in reviewing and enhancing our food safety system so we can continue to ensure that our products are safe, wholesome and worthy of our brand name," Josh Yarborough, director of quality assurance for Manda, said in Saturday's statement.

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Online:

USDA news release:

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_028_2013_Expanded/index.asp

Manda Meat Packing statement:

http://www.mandafinemeats.com/Manda%20Baker%20Recall%20Statement%204-12-13.pdf

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2013-04-13-Meat%20Recall/id-c4b4537f0e6644b1b7f825e0f16367a6

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