Yu Shang Food Recall: Listeria Outbreak Linked to Ready-to-Eat Meat and Poultry Products Claims Infant’s Life

A recent outbreak of listeria food poisoning has been linked to ready-to-eat meat and poultry products from Yu Shang Food, Inc., resulting in the death of a California infant and illnesses in at least 10 other people. The affected products include chicken feet, duck neck, beef shank, and pork hock, among others.

Yu Shang Food, based in Spartanburg, South Carolina, has recalled over 72,000 pounds of these meat and poultry products following the discovery of listeria in routine tests conducted in October. The products were distributed to retail locations nationwide and were also available online. Illnesses have been reported in four states.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nine of the 11 people sickened were hospitalized. A pregnant California woman was among those affected, and although both her infants died, listeria was only confirmed in one of the infants. Therefore, only that infant and the mother were included in the CDC’s count.

The CDC has identified the Yu Shang Food products as the source of the outbreak through interviews with those who were sickened and laboratory findings. Consumers are advised to discard or return the recalled products and to clean and sanitize any surfaces that may have come into contact with the contaminated foods.

Listeria poisoning can manifest with mild symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, but it can also lead to more severe illnesses including headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions. The symptoms can appear within a few hours or days after consumption but may also take weeks or up to three months to manifest. The most vulnerable groups include the very young, people over 65, those with weakened immune systems, and pregnant individuals.

This outbreak follows another recent listeria outbreak tied to recalled Boar's Head deli meats, which resulted in 10 deaths and dozens of illnesses this summer. Additionally, there was another listeria outbreak linked to frozen waffles that impacted Utah.