Federal health officials said Thursday that one person has died and four were hospitalized in an outbreak of listeria linked to cured hams from North Carolina, The ham recall affects 89,000 pounds of ham products made by Johnston County Hams, Inc. in Smithfield, North Carolina. The ham maker has recalled the hams, which were produced from April 3, 2017 through October 2, 2018,. The CDC has recommended that consumers “return them to the store for a refund or throw them away. Restaurants and retailers should not serve or sell recalled Johnston County Hams products,”. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said they were distributed in Maryland, North Carolina, New York, South Carolina and Virginia. The illnesses that have been reported were in North Carolina and Virginia.
Separately, the USDA said JBS Tolleson, Inc of Arizona was recalling 6.5 million pounds of raw beef, including ground beef, because it may be contaminated with salmonella. To date, 57 people have been reported sick in 16 states, according to the CDC. The products were sold under several labels, including Cedar River Farms, Gourmet Burger, Grass Run Farms Natural Beef, JBS Generic, Showcase and Showcase/Walmart. The USDA said some people could have contaminated beef in their freezers. Salmonella can survive freezing, said Wise. “Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” the USDA said.
The USDA has a full list of affected products online.
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