021027 Pilgrim's Pride to Expand Recall Due to ListeriaOctober 13, 2002Washington - Pilgrim's Pride Corp., the second largest U.S. poultry producer, will expand its recall of meat products due to potential contamination with Listeria, a U.S. Agriculture Department official said. Based in Pittsburg, Texas, Pilgrim's Pride recalled 295,000 pounds of its ready-to-eat turkey and chicken products after samples tested positive for the bacteria. The products were produced at its Pennsylvania plant under the Wampler Foods brand. Jerry Redding, USDA spokesman, said USDA officials were in discussions with the company on how much to expand the recall. An announcement was expected late on Friday or early Saturday. "Any discussion we are having with the USDA continues to be ongoing," said Richard Cogdill, the company's chief financial officer. Food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause high fever, severe headaches and nausea. The disease is especially dangerous for pregnant women, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems from cancer or other diseases. Pilgrim's Pride said all the meat products recalled earlier this week were produced on Aug. 14 and distributed to retail stores and other institutions nationwide. The company said no illnesses have been linked to the recalled products. The USDA discovered the problem while investigating a major Listeria outbreak that has caused at least 23 deaths and 120 illnesses in eight Northeastern states. A sample at the Pilgrim's Pride plant tested positive for Listeria on Oct. 2, the USDA said. In the Listeria outbreak involving 120 illnesses, the USDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have linked at least seven deaths, three miscarriages and 44 illnesses to the same Listeria strain. Illnesses from the Northeast Listeria outbreak were reported in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Connecticut, Michigan and Massachusetts. The CDC said the most recent patient became ill on Sept. 30. The CDC said last week it believed turkey deli meat was one likely source for the outbreak. The USDA has conducted more than 400 tests on lunch meats and deli products following the illnesses. Health officials have advised those most at risk to avoid eating uncooked hot dogs, luncheon meats or soft cheeses as these products have been associated with listeriosis outbreaks in the past. About 2,500 cases of listeriosis occur each year in the United States. Listeria can be destroyed by cooking meat to a temperature of at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
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