You might want to check your fridge and freezer for potentially contaminated meat products—again.
9.9 million pounds of meat and poultry were just recalled for listeria, including popular Trader Joe’s products like the Lemon Chicken & Arugula Salad and Tarragon Chicken Salad Wrap. Marketside’s Caesar Salad with Chicken, HMS Chicken Alfredo, and H-E-B’s Chicken & Rice Broccoli Casserole were also affected, among many other premade dishes at grocery stores.
On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration announced that Oregon-based food distributor BrucePac is recalling prepackaged meat after listeria was found. The impacted items include meat produced between June 19, 2024 and October 8, 2024 and were sent to grocery stores like Trader Joe’s, H-E-B, Walmart, and Aldi, the FDA reports.
Here’s the full list of recalled items:
- H-E-B Chicken Broccoli & Rice Casserole: best by date of “080925”
- H-E-B Texas Ranch Chicken Casserole: best by date of “082725”
- H-E-B Texas Ranch Style Chicken with Ranchero Beans & Mexican Style Rice: best by date of “090325”
- Trader Joe’s Lemon Chicken & Arugula Salad: best by date between 9/09/24 and 10/14/24
- Trader Joe’s Tarragon Chicken Salad Wrap: best by date between 9/09/24 and 10/14/24
- Trader Joe’s Turkey Club Wrap: best by date between 9/09/24 and 10/14/24
- Fresh Express Gourmet Cafe Salads Chicken Caesar (6.3oz): use by date prior to 10/23/2024
- Fresh Express Gourmet Cafe Salads Santa Fe Style (6.3oz): use by date prior to 10/11/2024
- Little Salad Bar Santa Fe Style Salad (6.3oz): use by date prior to 10/16/2024
- Marketside Caesar Salad With Chicken (6.25 oz): use by date prior to 10/19/2024
- Marketside Santa Fe Style Salad With Chicken (6.35 oz): use by date prior to 10/15/2024
- Marketside Caesar Salad With Chicken (12 oz): use by date prior to 10/13/2024
- Marketside Southwest Style Salad with Chicken (11.75 oz): use by date prior to 10/13/2024
- Little Salad Bar Chicken Caesar Salad (6.3 oz): use by date prior to 10/20/2024
- HMS Chicken Alfredo: use by dates between 8/25/2025 and 10/8/2025
The Food Safety and Inspection Service reportedly found listeria during routine testing. Symptoms of the illness include fever, vomiting, nausea, headaches, and neck stiffness. However, there have been no reported cases linked to the outbreak yet.
Why Are There So Many Food Recalls?
Here’s the real question, though: Why does this keep happening? This isn’t the only recall as of late. Almost every week it seems like we hear about a new one. Eggs, cantaloupes, apple juice, cucumbers, pistachios, and cookie dough are just a few of the recalls we’ve already seen this year.
Now, there a few variables to blame. For starters, allergens—which are a common cause of recalls—are being mislabeled because fewer companies are responsible for a larger range of products. This makes contamination easier.
According to a health commissioner in Ohio, Chris Cook, advanced technologies are also contributing to this surge in recalls. This means that there aren’t necessarily more problems with food production than before; they’re just being flagged more frequently. It’s increased vigilance, which, ultimately, is a good thing. Ignorance isn’t bliss when it comes to food recalls.
Megan Schaltegger is an NYC-based writer. She loves strong coffee, eating her way through the Manhattan food scene, and her dog, Murray. She promises not to talk about herself in third person IRL.