300,000 pounds of meatballs recalled over listeria risk

A New Jersey company has recalled 150 tons of meatballs and other frozen meat products due to possible listeria contamination, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced on Saturday.

MSNBC reports that Bridgeton-based Buona Vita, Inc. is recalling more than 300,000 (136,000 kg) pounds of frozen, ready-to-eat meat products due to what the USDA's FSIS is calling a "high" risk of listeria contamination. Meatballs, chicken and beef patties, and chicken and beef loaves are among the recalled products. The possible contamination was discovered by FSIS and Ohio Department of Agriculture testing. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, listeria is a serious infection caused by the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes. Symptoms of infection, which can take up to two months to appear, include fever and muscle aches, sometimes accompanied by diarrhea. Other possible symptoms include headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions. Listeriosis primarily strikes the elderly, pregnant women, newborns and individuals with weakened immune systems. There have been no reports of illness in people who consumed Buona Vita products. The most recent serious listeria outbreak occurred in 2011 when 30 people died after eating contaminated cantaloupe grown at Jensen Farms in Colorado. It was the deadliest case of foodborne illness in the United States in more than a quarter century.