Grand Rapids, MI - Investigators have traced a bacterial outbreak that killed four people and made 38 others sick to a meat processing plant in western Michigan.
Lab tests found listeria contamination in four unopened packages of hot dogs handled at the Bil Mar plant in Zeeland, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
Bil Mar is a subsidiary of Sara Lee Corp.
Tests don't show whether the bacteria originated at the Bil Mar plant or from contaminated meat brought into the plant, said Linda Swacina, a USDA spokeswoman.
Sara Lee recalled several brands of hot dogs and cold cuts last month when the bacteria were found in an open package of hot dogs. Tests are still being performed on cold cuts.
CDC spokeswoman Sharon Hoskins said the agency tested sealed packages to make sure the bacteria were not from an outside source. She said the strain of bacteria is the same one that sickened people in the outbreak.
Meat cannot be sold without USDA approval and the agency said it won't give its approval to the Bil Mar products until it is assured the plant is safe. Sara Lee voluntarily shut down several production lines at the plant last month because of the recall.
About 1,800 cases of food poisoning caused by listeria are reported annually in the United States.
Healthy people usually can fight off the bacterium with no more than flu- like symptoms. But listeria can kill, causing meningitis or blood infection. Most at risk are pregnant women, the elderly and people with weak immune systems.
Since early August, 40 cases caused by a single listeria strain, including the deaths, have been identified in Ohio, New York, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Michigan, West Virginia, Connecticut, Oregon, Vermont and Georgia, the CDC reported. On Thursday, the agency added two new cases and the state of Minnesota to its list.
Ms. Hoskins did not know when or where the four people died.
The products being recalled are coded EST P261 or EST 6911 and include the nationally distributed Ball Park, Grillmaster and Hygrade brands. Also affected are the regional Bil Mar, Bryan Bunsize and Bryan 3-pound Club Pack hot dogs, Mr. Turkey, Sara Lee Deli Meat and Sara Lee Home Roast brands.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
P.O. Box 553
Northport, NY 11768
Phone: 631-757-4010
Fax: 631-757-4060
E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com
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