Food from the Carolinas, dead twins in California and a coast-to-coast listeria recall

A South Carolina food company expanded its recall of chicken, pork and beef products after an outbreak of listeria sicknesses, including at least one infant death in California.

Yu Shang Food, based in Spartanburg, South Carolina, originally recalled 4,589 pounds of Asian-themed ready-to-eat foods on Nov. 9, three weeks after the USDA-Food Safety and Inspection Service found listeria in finished product from Yu Shang and environmental samples.

Over the next 11 days, the listeria illnesses were linked with Yu Shang. So, Yu Shang added another 67,651 pounds Thursday to the recall.

“Working in conjunction with public health partners, FSIS determined that there is a link between the ready-to-eat meat and poultry products from Yu Shang Food, Inc. and an illness cluster,” the USDA said.

That cluster was in California, which the CDC said had seven of the 11 people officially counted in the outbreak. Because most people recover from foodborne illnesses without medical attention, outbreak official illness counts usually are well under the actual number of people sick.

In pregnant women, listeria can cause miscarriages and stillbirths.

“In California, one pregnant person and their twins were sick and both infants died,” the CDC said. “Listeria was found in a sample from the mother and from one of the twin infants, but it could not be found in a sample from the other infant. Because of this, only the mother and one twin are included as confirmed cases in this outbreak. One other listeria illness was reported in an infant who was sick and recovered.”

The other four people counted were in Illinois (two), New Jersey and New York (one each).

“Among the eight people interviewed, seven people shopped in person and online at markets where Yu Shang food products are sold,” the CDC said. “Two people specifically reported eating Yu Shang brand ready-to-eat chicken products.”

If you have any of the recalled products, throw them away or return them to the store for a full refund.

Any questions about this recall can be emailed to ling16099@yahoo.com or asked of Yu Shang Plant Manager Ling Li at 864-310-6313.