Nearly 200 schools in Philadelphia were affected by one recall of meat and poultry due to possible contamination with listeria, according to a letter to parents from the Philadelphia school district.
About 5,000 tons of ready-to-eat food was recalled this week by BrucePac of Woodburn, Oregon, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service discovered listeria in samples of its poultry during routine testing at the company’s plant in Durant , Okla. . The USDA says testing has identified BrucePac chicken as the source.
The nationwide recall includes 75 meat and chicken products produced between June 19 and October 8.
According to the Philadelphia School District, 197 pre-K and K-12 schools in the district were affected.
The school district says the items served include:
- Chicken and broccoli Alfredo Penne was served to preschoolers on October 8
- From October 4 to 10, preschoolers with a food allergy received chicken strips, honey, mustard, green beans and chicken, Caribbean pineapple sauce, rice carrots
- Chicken with BBQ sauce and rice-fried beans on September 23
“Today, Whitsons Culinary Group notified the School District of Philadelphia that certain chicken products provided to our Pre-K or schools as part of a meal program are the subject of a nationwide recall due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination,” Oz Hill, the interim deputy superintendent of operations, wrote in the letter.
The district said it is removing the remaining items from its schools.
The USDA said there have been no reports of illness associated with the recall.
