More than 1,500 pounds of ready-to-eat pork products distributed to New York, New Jersey and six other states are being recalled under the US Department of Agriculture’s most serious alert level because of possible Listeria contamination.
Prime Line Distributors, Inc., of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Ferrarini USA, Inc., based in Hoboken, have recalled 1,513 pounds of imported ready-to-eat pork guanciale that may be “adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes,” the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said Sunday.
The agency designated the action as a “Class I” recall, its highest warning category for food safety risks.
Officials discovered the issue during routine import reinspection, when testing on a product sample came back positive for Listeria monocytogenes.
FSIS said it has not received any reports of illness linked to the recalled pork products.
Prime Line Distributors Inc. recalled assorted-weight cardboard cases containing two individually vacuum-packed pieces labeled “Prime Line Distributors, Inc. Guanciale Pork Jowl Product of Italy.” The affected items carry a best-if-used-by date of May 16, 2027, and lot number 263311US.
The Florida company also pulled assorted individually vacuum-sealed packages labeled “Guanciale Pork Jowl Product of Italy” with the same lot number and expiration date, including packages that also display a “Dok Guanciale” label.
Ferrarini USA, Inc. recalled assorted-weight cardboard cases containing two individually vacuum-packed pieces of “Guanciale Pork Jowl Product of Italy,” as well as assorted-weight individually vacuum-packed “Ferrarini Guanciale Dry-Cured Pork Jowl.” Both products have a best-if-used-by date of May 16, 2027, and lot number 263311US.
The slew of possibly contaminated meat bears the establishment number “IT 1937 L CE” inside the Italian mark of inspection or printed on the case label.
Prime Line Distributors, Inc, items were shipped to food service and retail locations in Florida, and Ferrarini USA, Inc., items were shipped to distributors and food service locations in California, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Texas, officials said.
“FSIS is concerned that some products may be in food service and retail refrigerators and freezers,” the FSIS wrote, urging companies “not to serve or sell these products.”
Consuming food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, a serious infection that primarily affects older adults, people with weakened immune systems, pregnant women, and their newborns.
The illness — which can be treated with antibiotics — can cause fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions, sometimes after diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms.
In pregnant women, the infection can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery, or life-threatening infection of the newborn.
Serious and sometimes fatal infections are also possible in older adults and persons with weakened immune systems.
