A federal food safety alert is urging consumers to check their refrigerators and freezers after ready-to-eat meat products were found to contain biscuits potentially contaminated with Listeria.
WASHINGTON - A product sitting in a refrigerator or freezer may pose a health risk even if it looks and smells perfectly normal. Federal food safety officials are warning consumers to check their kitchens after discovering that ready-to-eat meat products may contain biscuits potentially contaminated with
Listeria monocytogenes.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a public health alert Nov. 14 for ready-to-eat meat products containing FDA-regulated biscuits that may be contaminated with the potentially dangerous bacteria.
The alert follows notification from a company that it had received biscuits subject to a recall by C.H. Guenther & Son. The affected biscuits were used as an ingredient in downstream meat products, prompting FSIS to issue the warning.
Photo provided/USDA
Additional products could be identified as the ingredient recall progresses. FSIS said it will update the public health alert as more information becomes available and is urging consumers to check back frequently.
There have been no confirmed reports of illness associated with consumption of the products.
Consumers can review the
FSIS list of products subject to the public health alert, which includes establishment numbers and states where the products were distributed.
Product labels are also available online.
Health risks associated with Listeria
The bacteria,
Listeria monocytogenes, can cause listeriosis, a serious infection that primarily affects older adults, people with weakened immune systems, pregnant women and newborns. Although less common, infections can also occur in people outside these higher-risk groups.
Symptoms can include fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions. Diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms may occur before more serious complications develop.
Invasive listeriosis occurs when the infection spreads beyond the gastrointestinal tract. For pregnant women, the infection can result in miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery or a life-threatening infection in the newborn. Older adults and people with weakened immune systems also face an increased risk of serious, sometimes fatal, complications.
Listeriosis can be treated with antibiotics. People in higher-risk categories who develop flu-like symptoms within two months of eating potentially contaminated food should seek medical attention and tell their health care provider about the possible exposure.
What consumers should do
FSIS is concerned that some of the affected products may already be in consumers' or retailers' refrigerators and freezers.
Consumers who have purchased products included in the alert should not eat them. Retailers are urged not to serve or sell the affected products.
The products should either be discarded or returned to the place of purchase.
Consumers with questions about food safety can contact the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-674-6854. Questions can also be submitted by email to MPHotline@usda.gov.
Anyone wishing to report a problem involving a meat, poultry or egg product can use the agency's
Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System, which is available 24 hours a day.
As the investigation and ingredient recall continue, consumers should review the product lists for updates and avoid consuming any products identified in the public health alert.
TAGGED: USDA Listeria public health alert November 2026, ready-to-eat meat products contaminated with Listeria, recalled biscuits used in meat products, foods affected by C.H. Guenther biscuit recall, symptoms and health risks of Listeria infection
