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Dutch House Pepper Beef Recalled from So. Calif. & Phoenix for ListeriaWASHINGTON, June 14, 1996--Freedman Food Service Inc., a Houston, Texas, food processing firm, is voluntarily recalling about 3,000 pounds of Dutch House brand pepper beef that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today. "DUTCH HOUSE PEPPER BEEF, Caramel Color Added," a fully cooked, ready-to-eat product, was distributed to Sam's Wholesale Club stores in Southern California and the Phoenix, Ariz., area. All packages of the pepper beef with "SELL BY 082996" on the package are being recalled. "EST. 10" appears inside the USDA inspection seal on the product label. No other product is affected by the recall. "Because of the potential hazard, we urge consumers who have purchased the suspect product to return it to the place of purchase," said Michael R. Taylor, USDA's acting under secretary for food safety and also administrator of USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service. USDA discovered the problem through its routine monitoring program for Listeria monocytogenes. Consumption of food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, a rare but potentially serious disease. In general, healthy people rarely contract listeriosis; most susceptible are pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems--infants, the elderly, and the chronically ill. Symptoms of listeriosis include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, and in some cases flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, and headache. Consumers with questions about the recall may phone the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-800-535-4555. The hotline can be reached from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. This number also provides access to a telecommunications device for deaf and hearing-impaired consumers. Contact: Steve Lombardi (202) 720-9113 or Margaret Webb (202) 720-9113 |
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