Starbucks Coffee Co. has removed certain breakfast sandwiches from 250 locations because of possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The sandwiches, made by Progressive Gourmet Inc., Wilmington, MA, may have been heated at Starbucks locations for immediate consumption or sold to consumers for consumption later, according to a recall notice on the Food and Drug Administration website. The manufacturer recalled its 6-ounce sausage, egg, cheddar cheese English muffin sandwiches after its in-house testing procedures detected Listeria monocytogenes on a contact surface in its production plant.
The recalled sandwiches are individually packed clear plastic packages and can be identified with the “best before” date of Aug. 7, 2016. Progressive Gourmet distributed the sandwiches to warehouses in Maryland, North Carolina, Texas and Louisiana, but were only available at 250 Starbucks stores in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma on March 3 and 4. As of March 4, no illnesses had been reported in connection with these sandwiches, but symptoms of infections from Listeria monocytogenes can take up to 70 days to develop. Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, but Listeria can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women. Progressive Gourmet is working closely with FDA and the Massachusetts Department of Health and continues to investigate the source of the problem according to the recall notice. Consumers who bought the recalled sandwiches are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-800-224-7630 Mondays-Fridays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST.
