Listeria Precaution Prompts Recall

Of Chicken Dish

OLD LYME — A Connecticut firm has voluntarily recalled about 70,400 pounds of a frozen chicken and pasta product that may be contaminated with the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.

Aliki Foods, Inc, of Old Lyme, said on October 9 the boxed product is “Aliki Chicken Broccoli Fettuccine Alfredo Made with White Chicken” and was distributed to several Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. Routine tests by the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service turned up possible contamination of Listeria monocytogenes. The food safety service said it has received no reports of illness associated with product, however.

Each box bears the establishment number “Est. 219” inside the Canadian Food Inspection Agency mark of inspection. It also has a best if used by date of “SEPT 08” on the top of the box.

Health officials say the bacteria can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease. Healthy people rarely contract it. Symptoms are high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness, and nausea. It can also cause miscarriages.

Company officials said fewer than 2,000 cases were sold to a single retailer. The distributors were quickly contacted to remove the item from their shelves.

The company said the product was prepared and packaged as a “Heat and Eat” dish but when it was submitted for USDA approval several years ago, the product was assigned a “Ready to Eat” code instead. Those products are typically subject to more stringent testing requirements since they would not otherwise require heating.

“We believe that the product complies with all USDA requirements for ‘Heat and Eat’ products, but are recalling the product to avoid any confusion until the proper paperwork can be processed,” said Aliki Foods President Michael Pappas.

The product was produced on September 28 and distributed to retail outlets in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia.