Chicago - Thousands of chicken burritos made by a division of giant food conglomerate Tyson Foods Inc., have been recalled, the latest incident involving contamination by the deadly bacteria listeria.
The recall affects some 78,000 burritos supplied to American Airlines at the end of last year, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press.
Chicago-based Culinary Foods Inc., a unit of Tyson Foods, is a supplier to airlines and also makes foods for restaurants, totaling about 50 million meals per year, the paper said.
Listeria bacteria was found in burritos sampled in Detroit, the paper said. When ingested, the bacteria causes a disease called listeriosis that starts out resembling intestinal flu but can lead to death.
A number of food products have been recalled recently, most notably hot dogs and deli meats made by Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE:SLE - news)'s Bil Mar Foods in December. A nationwide outbreak of listeria linked to Bil-Mar's Zeeland, Michigan, plant has caused 16 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Friday, meat companies in Ontario, Canada, and the Pacific Northwest recalled hot dogs suspected of contamination with the potentially deadly bacteria. Listeriosis primarily affects unborn children, the very young, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems. Healthy people are not normally sickened by it.
At least one wrongful death suit has been filed against Sara Lee by a man who's wife died of listeriosis.
Officials from Culinary Foods and Arizona-based Tyson could not be reached for comment. According to the Detroit paper, Culinary Foods is a major supplier to the airline industry, with its foods showing up on almost all major carriers and foreign airlines as well.
Dallas-based American Airlines stopped serving all food from Culinary Foods about a month ago after concerns arose, the paper said.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
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