Fair Oaks Farms LLC in Pleasant Prairie, WI, has recalled 1,134 pounds of pork sausage patties after its internal testing returned positive results for Listeria monocytogenes, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

FSIS and the company are concerned that some product may be frozen and in consumers’ freezers.

Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

The fully cooked pork sausage patties were produced on Aug. 8. The specific product recalled can be identified by the following label information:

  • 2-lb. plastic sleeve packages containing “BREAKFAST Best FULLY COOKED ORIGINAL PORK SAUSAGE PATTIES,” with a sell-by date of 05/15/2018.

The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 17479T” above the sell by date. Fair Oaks shipped the sausage patties to distribution and retail locations in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. Further distribution details were not included in the recall notice. When available, retail distribution lists will be posted on the FSIS website.

The contamination was discovered when firm’s routine testing indicated positive results for Listeria monocytogenes. The products were on hold at a distribution center, however, the products were inadvertently shipped. No confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products had been reported as of the posting of the notice on Tuesday.

Consumption of food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria can cause listeriosis, a serious infection that can be fatal for young children, older adults, people with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women and their newborns. Healthy adults can also be infected, but they usually recover.

Anyone who has eaten any of the recalled Breakfast Best brand sausage and developed symptoms of Listeria infection should seek medical attention and tell their doctors about their possible exposure to the bacteria. It can take up to 70 days after exposure for symptoms to develop.

Symptoms of listeriosis can include fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. An invasive infection spreads beyond the gastrointestinal tract.

In pregnant women, the infection can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery or life-threatening infection of the newborn. Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics. Persons in the higher-risk categories who experience flu-like symptoms within 70 days after eating contaminated food should seek medical care and tell the health care provider about eating the contaminated food.

 

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