In October 2024, a BrucePac recall expanded to approximately 11.8 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry because of possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The affected ingredients had gone into many products, making the recall more complicated than checking one brand name.
This is a record of that 2024 recall, not a new alert. Anyone checking a stored product should use the Food Safety and Inspection Service's original notice and its product-label information, rather than treating a list of retailers as proof that everything from a store was affected.
Follow the product details
FSIS gave May 31 to October 8, 2024, as the production window for the affected meat and poultry. Other establishments received the ingredients and used them in ready-to-eat meals. Some products also went to schools.
A supplier’s establishment number was not enough to identify every finished item. BrucePac’s recall FAQ noted that a number on its own packaging might not be printed on the retail package bought by a customer.
Use the official materials to compare the food itself, package information and dates. If the item remains unclear, ask the company shown on its packaging. Knowing that a retailer appeared in recall coverage cannot, by itself, tell you whether one particular meal was recalled.
Why Listeria matters
Contact a healthcare provider if you feel ill after eating recalled food, and tell them about that possible exposure. Symptoms of listeriosis, the infection caused by Listeria bacteria, vary. A checklist cannot diagnose it for you.
The CDC identifies pregnant people, newborns, adults 65 and older and people with weakened immune systems as higher-risk groups for serious illness. Someone in one of those groups should be particularly mindful of seeking advice when illness follows eating recalled food.
Recalled food is not a taste test
If a product is identified as recalled, do not eat it. Follow the official instructions for returning or disposing of it and cleaning affected refrigerator surfaces. Smell and appearance cannot establish that it is safe.
For a concern about another product today, use current FSIS recall notices. This story records the historic BrucePac recall; it is not a new warning that every ready-made meal or everything in a retailer’s fridge is affected.
