chicken saladMore than 19,000 pounds of ready-to-eat ham and chicken products were recalled by Garden Fresh Foods in Wisconsin because of possible Listeria contamination. The announcement about the recall was sent out by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Services. The Food and Drug Administration’s website contains a full list of products that were recalled. Some of the products listed in the website include Archer Farms Rotisserie Chicken Salad, Market Pantry All White Meat Chicken Salad, D’Amico and Sons Chicken Salad with Rosemary, and Archer Farms Bacon Parmesan Dip. The website also lists the UPC, product code and the code date for the mentioned products.

The products that were recalled and listed at the FDA website had been distributed to food and retail service establishments countrywide. FDA discovered possible contamination by conducting a series of microbiological tests at the facility. Reports of illnesses due to consumption of the mentioned products have not been received by FSIA, FDA or Garden Fresh Foods Company. Any person concerned about the contamination has been requested to contact a healthcare provider to for additional tests. An earlier recall reported on September 23rd by Food Safety News, mainly concerned the Weiss Brand salads made by Garden Fresh Foods.

Generally, FSIS conducts checks on recall effectiveness to make sure that the recalling firms give notice to their customers and that the necessary steps are taken to ensure that the recalled product is no longer accessible to consumers. Recalls serve as an effective way of preventing the spread of food-related illness at the very early stages. They are mainly made by governmental bodies such as the FDA.