2002 — July-Sep, Listeriosis food poisoning, sliced turkey deli meat, Northeast — 7-10

–8-11  AP. “Groups, meat industry question handling of recalls.” Garden City Telegram, 12-26-2002.[1]

–7-10  Seven adults and three stillbirths/miscarriages. CDC.[2]

–7-10  Greenberg, Michael L. Terrorist, Natural, and Man-Made Disasters. 2006, p. 100.[3]

—     8  From deli meat. Cartwright, Emily J., et al. Table 1.[4]

 

Narrative Information

 

CDC: “A multistate outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections with 46 culture-confirmed cases, seven deaths, and three stillbirths or miscarriages in eight states has been linked to eating sliceable turkey deli meat. Cases have been reported from Pennsylvania (14 cases), New York (11 in New York City and seven in other locations), New Jersey (five), Delaware (four), Maryland (two), Connecticut (one), Massachusetts (one), and Michigan (one). Culture dates ranged from July 18 to September 30, 2002; case-finding is ongoing. Outbreak isolates share a relatively uncommon pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern….

 

“On the basis of these findings, the plant, operated by Pilgrim’s Pride Foods and located in Franconia, Pennsylvania, recalled 27.4 million lbs. of fresh and frozen ready-to-eat turkey and chicken products on October 12, and the company voluntarily suspended operations. The products subject to this recall were produced during May 1–October 11….” (CDC. “Public Health Dispatch: Outbreak of Listeriosis — Northeastern United States, 2002.” MMWR, 51/42, 10-25-2002, pp. 950-951.)

 

Newspapers

 

Dec 26: “Washington (AP) — A series of food-poisoning outbreaks that killed nine people and sickened 135 others has consumer groups and the meat industry questioning how the government handles meat recalls. The Agriculture Department and processors now share the responsibility for ‘voluntary’ recalls under a system that both the industry and consumer groups criticize as cumbersome and ineffective. While companies supposedly make the decisions voluntarily on whether to issue recalls, it is the department that announces them.

 

“Carol Tucker Foreman, director of the America’s Food Policy Institute, said the illnesses and deaths linked to large recalls this year are proof that the current system does not work….

 

“An outbreak of Listeriosis in the Northeast over the summer prompted the largest recall in history. Eventually it covered more than 30 million pounds of precooked chicken and turkey packaged at a Wampler Foods plant in Pennsylvania and J. L. Foods plant in New Jersey. Consumer groups complained that those recalls were not initiated until months after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention picked up evidence of the Listeria-produced outbreak. It killed eight people, caused three miscarriages and sickened another 45 people….” (AP. “Groups, meat industry question handling of recalls.” Garden City Telegram, KS, 12-26-2002, p. A7.

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Groups, meat industry question handling of recalls.” Garden City Telegram, KS, 12-26-2002, p. A7. Accessed 11-7-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/garden-city-telegram-dec-26-2002-p-7/

 

Cartwright, Emily J., Kelly A. Jackson, et al. Listeriosis Outbreaks and Associated Food Vehicles, United States, 1998-2008. Medscape CME Activity, Vol. 19, No. 1, Jan 2013. Accessed 11-7-2017 at: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/19/1/12-0393-t1

 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Public Health Dispatch: Outbreak of Listeriosis — Northeastern United States, 2002.” MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), Vol. 51, No. 42, 10-25-2002, pp. 950-951. Accessed 11-7-2017 at: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5142a3.htm

 

Greenberg, Michael L. Terrorist, Natural, and Man-Made Disasters. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2006.

[1] “It killed eight people, caused three miscarriages and sickened another 45 people.” We choose, however, to use the CDC figures of seven deaths and three stillbirths/miscarriages.

[2] CDC. “Public Health Dispatch: Outbreak of Listeriosis — Northeastern United States, 2002.” MMWR, 51/42, 10-25-2002, pp. 950-951.

[3] “Forty-six culture-confirmed cases with seven deaths and three fetal deaths were traced to Listeria monocytogenes from sliced deli turkey meat.”

[4] “Reported Listeriosis outbreaks (n+24) by year., Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System, United States, 1998-2008.” In Medscape CME Activity, Emerging Infections Diseases, Jan 2013.