Alert Issued For Ga. Listeria-Related Product Recalls
Alison Guillory / WABE
An audio version of this story.
Georgians might want to take a close look inside their kitchens.
This week, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black issued a warning about the items recently recalled in the state. Kroger, Publix and CRF Frozen Foods are among the companies that have recently pulled products due to fears of listeria contamination.
Listeria is a bacteria that can pose serious health risks for some, like pregnant women, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. For relatively healthy people, it can cause lesser problems, like fevers and sore muscles.
Most listeria problems come from the water used to wash food products.
“You have to think about what that farm environment – what’s their water supply? Is it potentially contaminated? Because they have used that local water to watch all that stuff and then they put it in a bag,” said Davelle Pursner, an infection prevention coordinator at the University of Georgia Health Center.
Health officials say re-washing listeria-tainted foods usually won’t help.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports about 500 Americans die of listeria-related problems annually.
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