Foster Farms based in Livingston, California has announced that it has recalled chicken products for fear of their products being infected with a strain of Salmonella Heidelberg. This announcement was made by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) has still to determine the exact amount of chicken being recalled.
The products that have been recalled include fresh chicken sold by retailers under the Foster Farms brand or other private brand names. Inside the USDA mark of inspection, the recalled products bare the following numbers: P6137, P6137A and P7632 and they were produced from March 7 through March 13 of the current year.
The meat was shipped to Safeway, Kroger, Costco and Foodmaxx and other retail stores and centers in the following states: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Alaska, Idaho, Oklahoma, Nevada, Kansas, Washington, Utah and Oregon.
The public is being reassured by the company and the FSIS that the products are no longer available for purchase, but they are also trying to reach as many consumers that may have some meat in their freezers.
On June 23, 2014 the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) notified the FSIS about a case of Salmonella Heidelberg after consumption of boneless, skinless chicken breast from coming from Foster Farms. The case that started the recall was identified in California and the illness onset was on May 5 of this year.
The FSIS urges consumers to handle raw meat properly, to cook meat following instructions and to handle raw meat in such a manner as to prevent contamination (cleaning hands and utensils after they’ve been in contact with raw meat and also using different chopping boards for vegetables and meat).
Salmonella signs and symptoms include: nausea, abdominal pain, chills, vomiting, bloody stool, diarrhea, weakness and headache. The main treatment for this type of food poisoning to replacing fluids and electrolytes lost due to diarrhea and vomiting. Also, you should modify your diet to include only easily digestible foods and avoid dairy products. Rest is also very important.
What are your thoughts on this subject? Do you have in your freezer any chicken that comes from Foster Farms? If you do, check the date and take extra care when cooking the meat or simply make things easier on yourself and simply throw it away. Remember that Salmonella cannot survive the cooking process, but handling the meat can be quite dangerous.
