Ham Linked To Listeria Death: Recall In Maryland

MARYLAND — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is urging consumers to check their refrigerators and freezers in a recall of more than 89,000 pounds of ready-to-eat ham products produced by Johnston County Hams due to threat of listeria monocytogenes contamination. Agriculture officials say the product is linked to a death.

The recall includes ham products distributed in Maryland, North Carolina, New York, South Carolina and Virginia.

The ham products, which are made in Smithfield, North Carolina, have been linked to four cases of listeriosis and one death between July 8, 2017, and Aug. 11, 2018, according to the USDA.

"On September 27, 2018, FSIS [the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service] was notified that a person ill with listeriosis reported consuming a ham product produced at Johnston County Hams," the recall notice said. "Working in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state public health and agriculture partners, FSIS determined that there is a link between the Listeria monocytogenes illnesses and ham products produced at Johnston County Hams."

Listeriosis is a serious bacterial infection that often leads to hospitalization and death for one out of every five infected, according to the CDC. Most at risk for the foodborne listeriosis are the elderly, pregnant women and their newborns, and those with weakened immune systems. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, diarrhea and gastrointestinal symptoms, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions.

"An invasive infection spreads beyond the gastrointestinal tract," the USDA said. "In pregnant women, the infection can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery or life-threatening infection of the newborn."
According to the USDA, these are the recalled ham products, produced between April 3, 2017, and Oct. 2:

• Varying weights of 7 to 8-lbs. plastic-wrapped "JOHNSTON COUNTY HAMS, INC. COUNTRY STYLE FULLY COOKED BONELESS DELI HAM."
• Varying weights of 7 to 8-lbs. plastic-wrapped "Ole Fashioned Sugar Cured The Old Dominion Brand Hams Premium Fully Cooked Country Ham" with Sell-By dates from 4/10/2018 to 9/27/2019.
• Varying weights of 7 to 8-lbs. plastic-wrapped "Padow's Hams & Deli, Inc. FULLY COOKED COUNTRY HAM BONELESS Glazed with Brown Sugar."
• Varying weights of 7 to 8-lbs. plastic-wrapped "Premium Fully Cooked Country Ham LESS SALT Distributed By: Valley Country Hams LLC" with Sell-By dates from 4/10/2018 to 9/27/2019.
• Varying weights of 7 to 8-lbs. plastic-wrapped "GOODNIGHT BROTHERS COUNTRY HAM Boneless Fully Cooked."

The products subject to recall bear establishment number "EST. M2646" inside the USDA mark of inspection, the USDA said.

Consumers who have any recalled deli ham should return it to the store for a refund or throw it away, the CDC said. "Even if some ham was eaten and no one got sick, do not eat it. If you do not know if the ham you purchased was recalled, ask the place where you purchased it or throw it away."

The CDC also urges those in possession of the recalled ham products to wash and sanitize drawers or shelves in refrigerators and freezers where the ham was stored. Here are five steps to clean your refrigerator.

You can read more about the Johnston County Ham recall here.

— By Patch editor Kim Johnson

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