Rio Tex Wholesale Meats Recalls Ready-To-Eat Beef Products Due To Possible Listeria Contamination

Recall date

March 6, 2015

Source

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA FSIS)

Recall number

041-2015

FDA classification

Class I

Sold / distributed

Texas

Why it was recalled

Product Contamination

Class I is the FDA’s most serious recall level: there is a reasonable probability that using this product will cause serious harm or death.

What was recalled

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2015 Rio Tex Wholesale Meats, a Mercedes, Texas establishment, is recalling approximately 58,180 pounds of ready-to-eat beef products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes ( Lm ), the U.S. Department of Agricultures Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The beef products were produced on various dates between March 25, 2014 and February 19, 2015. The following products are subject to recall: [ View Labels (PDF Only)] 20-lb. boxes containing four 5-lb. packages of Hausman Foods COOKED BEEF TACO FILLING. 20-lb. boxes containing four 5-lb. packages of Hausman Foods SEASONED COOKED BEEF BARBACOA. 20-lb. boxes containing four 5-lb. packages of Hausman Foods FULLY COOKED BARBACOA. 20-lb. boxes containing four 5-lb. packages of Hausman Foods BEEF CARNE GUISADA. 15-lb. and 45-lb. boxes containing three 5-lb. or 15-lb. packages of Rio-Tex-Meats BARBACOA. The products subject to recall bear the establishment number EST. 13545 inside the USDA mark of inspection. These products were shipped for hotels, restaurants and institutional use in Texas. The problem was discovered when FSIS personnel reviewed historical sampling data in the context of recent intensified verification testing with multiple Listeria monocytogenes positives. The historical sampling showed a recurrence of Lm isolates with indistinguishable Pulsed-field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns over a period of time within the establishment. The presence of isolates with indistinguishable PFGE patterns in environmental samples (including food contact and non-food contact surfaces) and on ready-to-eat meat products indicates that there are insufficient sanitary measures to prevent contamination of the production environment and the products with Lm . Consumption of food contaminated with L. monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, a serious infection that primarily affects older adults, persons with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women and their newborns.…