SuperMom’s and Hometown Kitchen chicken salad sandwiches are being recalled for possible Listeria contamination. The products were sold at Speedway and other convenience stores in Minnesota and Wisconsin. At the time of the recall, no illnesses had been reported from the consumption of this product. But consumers who have purchased these products should not eat them as Listeria can cause serious illness and death.
Northern Tier Bakery LLC of Saint Paul Park, MN issued the October 1 recall after being notified by its chicken supplier Tip Top Poultry Inc. of a recall for possible Listeria contamination. Tip Top issued a recall for all of its cooked chicken products manufactured between January 21, 2019, and September 24, 2019, after Canadian health officials notified the company that several of its products had tested positive for Listeria.
For several months, Canadian health officials have been investigating a Listeria outbreak linked to Rosemount brand cooked, diced chicken that was sold to cafeterias, hospitals and nursing homes. As of October 2, seven cases had been reported; five in Ontario and one each in British Columbia and Manitoba.
Health officials conducted genetic tests on the Listeria strain cultured from each patient and determined that they were all sickened by the same strain meaning they were all exposed to the same contaminated food.
This outbreak strain of Listeria also closely resembles the strain associated with an ongoing Listeria outbreak in the United States that has sickened 24 people two of whom have died.
During their investigation of this outbreak, the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada have collected and tested other cooked chicken products and found a number of samples that tested positive for Listeria.
Listeria can cause serious illness and death. Pregnant women are at heightened risk of contracting Listeria infections which can cause miscarriage and stillbirth. Symptoms of an infection include high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
The recalled SuperMom’s had the UPC 763913801286, the recalled Hometown Kitchen sandwiches have the UPC 763913260151. Both brands of the recalled sandwiches have the following “Enjoy Through” dates: 9/30, 10/1, 10/2, 10/3, 10/4, and 10/7.
