A nationwide recall of nearly 12 million pounds of potentially listeria-contaminated beef and chicken includes more than 20 school cafeterias across the New York area, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
The ready-to-eat meat products recalled by Oklahoma-based BrucePac were sent to nearly 200 schools across the country, according to a preliminary list released by the agency on Thursday.
The USDA said its safety and inspection service “is working diligently to identify all recalled products that were distributed to consumers, including those purchased by schools.”
The New York schools that were sent the potentially-contaminated meat are located in New York City and Long Island.
Some schools located in Newark, New Jersey closer to the state border were included in the affected New York area schools.
Affected schools in the New York area
- Blessed Sacrament in Staten Island
- Brooklyn Ave School in Valley Stream
- International Leadership Cs High School in Bronx
- Neighborhood Cs Bronx in Bronx
- Neighborhood Cs Harlem in New York
- New Hyde Park Rd School in New Hyde Park
- North Star Alexander Es B-3 in Newark
- North Star Clinton Hill Ms in Newark
- North Star Lincoln Park Ele B4 in Newark
- North Star Vailsburg Es in Newark
- North Star Vailsburg Ms in Newark
- North Star West Side Ms in Newark
- North Star West Side Park Es in Newark
- Nwpcs Clover in Staten Island
- Nwpcs Morningstar in Staten Island
- Nwpcs Villa in Staten Island
- Rcacs Centennial Ave in Roosevelt
- Rcacs Pleasant Ave in Roosevelt
- Robert Carbonaro in Valley Stream
- St. Charles in Staten Island
- William L Buck in Valley Stream
The major meatpacker initially announced the recall of 10 million pounds of product on Oct. 10 before expanding the recall by an additional 1.7 million pounds on Wednesday.
The meat and poultry items included in the recall were produced between May 31 and Oct. 8, according to the USDA.
The potentially-contaminated products include frozen meals and fresh salads sold at large chains including Walmart, Target, Trader Joe’s, Kroger, Publix and more, according to US regulators.
Food products typically have barcodes on their packaging that identify when they were produced and on which factory line the food was produced.
The potentially listeria-contaminated products have numbers “51205” or “P-51205” near the USDA mark of inspection, the agency said.
There are no known illnesses or deaths tied to the BrucePac recall to date.
“But there may be illnesses in multiple states and health departments haven’t connected the epidemiological dots yet,” food safety lawyer Bill Marler previously told The Post.
Listeria is a serious infection, posing the largest risk to older adults, immunodeficient people and pregnant women, according to the USDA. It can cause fever, aches, headaches, stiffness, confusion, loss of balance, convulsions and diarrhea, the agency said.
The bacteria has an incubation period of three to 70 days, experts said.
Consumers may have tainted products sitting in their refrigerators, since the recall largely affected frozen meals.
While listeria can survive in frozen foods, the process of heating up the meal will often kill the bacteria, food safety consultant and former USDA advisor James Marsden previously told The Post.
The massive recall comes as the agency is conducting an internal investigation about its handling of Boar’s Head.
The name brand in July recalled more than 7 million pounds of cold cuts due to listeria contamination.
At least 10 people died and dozens were hospitalized due to the illness.
Boar’s Head had operated a dirty, bug-infested meat factory and racked up dozens of health and safety violations over the years.