Area stores recall meat, poultry because of gigantic Listeria scare

The possibility that Listeria has contaminated meat and poultry product, some of which are sold at area grocery stores, has prompted a California company that distributes them to issue a voluntary recall.

Kroger, Costco, Dororthy Lane Market and Trader Joe’s shoppers should have received a recorded phone call alert regarding frozen chicken fried rice, chicken poblano firecrackers and other chicken and meat products produced by Ajinomoto Windsor Inc.

Gordon Food Service and Meijer make no mention of the recall on their websites.

The Ontario, Calif., company is undertaking the recall of an estimated 47.1 million pounds of not-ready-to-eat meat and poultry products in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as well as the federal Department of Agriculture.

The heat-treated, not fully cooked, not shelf stable meat and poultry items were produced on various dates between May 1, 2014 and May 1, 2016.

According to a prepared statement dated May 7, no illnesses have been reported to the company for the products involved in the recall.

Listeriosis can cause 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.

According to the Agriculture department, the problem was discovered when Ajinomoto Windsor, Inc. was notified by CRF Frozen Foods that its frozen vegetables used in Ajinomoto Windsor, Inc. products were involved in a recall. CRF Frozen Foods of Pasco, Wash., voluntarily recalled frozen fruit and vegetable items due to an illness outbreak of listeriosis.

The products in question were distributed in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Company officials, in the statement, said Ajinomoto Windsor Inc. is working with its customers to remove the products from store shelves.

If you have purchased Ajinomoto brand items that carry a “use-by” date of Nov. 5, 2017 or earlier, you are advised to discard them or return them to the store where you purchased them. If the product includes a Julian Code Date, remove or return or destroy that product as well, company officials said.

For questions, call the company’s consumer affairs hotline at 855-742-5011 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time, Monday through Sunday.

Go to windsorfoods.com for a list of products affected by the recall.