The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced on January 5th that Gold Star Sausage Co., Inc, a Denver, Colo., firm, is voluntarily recalling approximately 15,514 pounds of sausage products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
Each package bears the establishment number "EST. 1106" inside the USDA mark of inspection. The sausage products were distributed to retail and institutional establishments in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah.
The problem was discovered through microbiological testing completed by a non-government laboratory. FSIS has received no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of this product.
Consumption of food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease. Healthy people rarely contract listeriosis. However, listeriosis can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. Listeriosis can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths, as well as serious and sometimes fatal infections in those with weakened immune systems, such as infants, the elderly and persons with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy.
Additional information is available on the FSIS website.
Source:
FSIS, Press release