THE Ministry of Health is advising the public that Tyson® Fully Cooked Oven Roasted Diced Chicken Breast – Boneless Skinless with Rib Meat, Seasoned has been recalled by Tyson Foods Inc. due to possible listeria (bacteria) contamination.
In a press release on Monday, the ministry stated that a very small quantity of the product was imported by a local distributor and consumers should refrain from purchasing and consuming this product. Any product already purchased should be returned to the place of purchase or to the distributor, the ministry advises.
Listeria symptoms include diarrhoea, fever, headache and muscle pain.
The ministry is advising that consumers should also clean refrigerators, containers, and surfaces that may have come into contact with the recalled products as listeria can survive in the refrigerator and can easily spread to other foods and food contact surfaces.
The milder form of the disease is known as non-invasive listeriosis and the more severe form, invasive listeriosis.
The World Health Organization stated, “Pregnant women are about 20 times more likely to contract Listeriosis than other healthy adults which can result in miscarriage or stillbirth.
“Newborns may also have low birth weight, septicaemia and meningitis.”
Invasive listeriosis affects high risk groups including pregnant women, the elderly, infants, cancer patients, people living with AIDS and organ transplant patients.
Symptoms of invasive listeriosis include fever, muscle pain, septicemia and meningitis.
The Ministry of Health is advising persons to contact their healthcare provider immediately if those symptoms occurred after eating the recalled product.
Members of the public may also contact the Chemistry, Food and Drugs Division at 623-5242 or email cfdd@health.gov.tt for additional information.
The Ministry of Health will continue to monitor the situation and advise the population as required.
