Double B Foods Voluntarily Recalls its Sausage Rolls Due to Suspected Listeria

27/11/07 Double B Foods Inc has announced a voluntary recall of 98,000 pounds of Kolache sausage rolls in 12 US states because they could be contaminated with Listeria, a bacteria that causes listeriosis, which can be life-threatening to vulnerable groups. Pregnant women are the most likely to become infected but the seriousness risk is higher for the unborn child than the mother.

Kolache sausage rolls are made of sausage meat wrapped in pastry. A contaminated sample was found in routine food safety tests at the company's Meridian plant in Texas.

The company has issued a voluntary recall in 12 US states of all products containing the sausage meat as a precaution. There have been no illnesses reported to date they said in a statement released last Friday, 16th November.

According to the company the majority of the product has been seized before reaching the consumer, but there are still some stray ones out there.

The states affected are: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Texas. The products were sold to distributors and retailers in these states. Consumers may have bought them from retail outlets, school fundraisers, and other food distributors.

The products affected were made at the Meridian plant between 25th October and 6th November 2007. They carry the Double B and other private labels such as: HEB, Southern Heritage, Benchmark and Wheeler. They include the shipping box establishment number 7184M and P#7184M.

The recall does not apply to ready to cook product, only the ready to eat products are affected.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 2,500 Americans are seriously ill every year with listeriosis, of which 500 die.

Symptoms of listeriosis include: fever and muscle ache, which can sometimes be accompanied by nausea or diarrhea. If the infection spreads to the nervous system, the symptoms increase to include: stiff neck, headache, loss of balance, feelings of confusion, and convulsions.

Pregnant women are 20 times more likely to have listeriosis than other healthy adults, and about one third of cases occur in women who are pregnant.

Newborns rather than the mother are more susceptible to serious side effects of infection during pregnancy.

Other vulnerable groups include: the elderly, people with weak immune systems, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, or AIDS, and people taking glucocorticosteroid medication.

Healthy adults and children can become infected, but rarely get seriously ill.

Double B said it was working with the US Department of Agriculture, distributors and retailers to retrieve and destroy any products still on sale as quickly as possible.

If you have recently purchased and eaten any of the products listed by the manufacturer, and have any of the symptoms described above, or any food-borne illness symptoms, you should tell your doctor straight away.

More information is available directly from the manufacturer on 254-435-6575, or the toll free hotline on 866-966-4661.