In December of 2021, the USDA announced a recall of more than 2 million pounds of pork products over concerns about Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The company involved is Alexander & Hornung, a business unit of Perdue Premium Meat Company, Inc. (This is a separate company from meat and poultry giant Perdue Farms.)
At press time, Aldi and Trader Joe’s are not on the list of affected recall products. Neither company is listed on the USDA site for recalled meats, and neither Aldi nor Trader Joe’s have anything about the recalls on their respective recall pages.
So what companies are involved? The list, as you would expect, is large and includes the following grocers in the following states:
- ACME Markets (CT, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA)
- Albertsons (OR, WA)
- Big Y Stores (CT, MA)
- Piggly Wiggly (NC)
- Safeway (DC, DE, MD, OR, WA)
- Shaw’s (MA, ME, NH, VT)
- ShopRite (CT, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA)
- Star Market (MA)
- Whole Foods (All Stores Nationwide)
The recall also includes a number of other brand names that might be sold at other grocery outlets. Again, though, at this time, none of those outlets include Aldi or Trader Joe’s.
According to the USDA, Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, which in turn “can cause fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. An invasive infection spreads beyond the gastrointestinal tract. In pregnant women, the infection can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery or life-threatening infection of the newborn. In addition, serious and sometimes fatal infections in older adults and persons with weakened immune systems. Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics. Persons in the higher-risk categories who experience flu-like symptoms within two months after eating contaminated food should seek medical care and tell the health care provider about eating the contaminated food.”
You can find the complete USDA list of recalled products right here.
