021101 USDA Checks Two More Meat Plants for Listeria

Washington - The US Department of Agriculture said it was investigating two more meat plants in connection with a deadly Listeria outbreak in eight northeastern states.

"There are at least two other establishments that we are doing the same kind of investigation," said Steve Cohen, spokesman for USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Cohen would not disclose the names of those companies.

USDA inspectors have already linked Pilgrim's Pride Corp. and, most recently, Jack Lambersky Poultry Co. Inc., to the Listeria outbreak, prompting the companies to recall a total of 27.6 million pounds of ready-to-eat turkey and chicken products.

The USDA, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is investigating a total of 120 Listeria cases, including 23 deaths, which first emerged in mid-July. CDC said 50 cases so far, which include seven deaths and three miscarriages, have been linked to the same strain.

Officials are investigating US meat companies based on information received from the victims.

"We are going in the order of priority based on information from the CDC," Cohen said. The two unnamed meat plants "are establishments whose products were also mentioned in interviews, but less frequently."

Cohen said the USDA tested both the plants and their food products. The results were sent to the CDC to be analyzed.

Jack Lambersky Poultry, which does business as J.L. Foods Co. Inc., recalled about 200,000 pounds of poultry after its products were the first to be definitively linked to the outbreak.

The CDC said Pilgrim's Pride Wampler deli turkey was more than likely another source of the outbreak, after environmental samples tested positive to the same Listeria strain. The company last month launched the nation's largest meat recall, withdrawing nearly 27.4 million pounds of poultry.

Jack Lambersky, headquartered in New Jersey, and Texas-based Pilgrim's Pride have voluntarily closed the plants linked to the outbreak until the USDA completes its investigation.

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