9 LI schools shipped products that were recalled due to possible listeria contamination

Nine Long Island schools are among at least 200 nationwide that have received meat and poultry that are part of a recall due to possible contamination with listeria, a dangerous and potentially deadly bacteria, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and an island school district announced.

The six schools on Long Island identified by the USDA are: The two Roosevelt Children's Academy Charter School campuses in Roosevelt; Brooklyn Avenue, Robert W. Carbonaro and William L. Buck Schools in Valley Stream; and New Hyde Park Road School in New Hyde Park.

Three schools in the New Hyde Park-Garden City Park Union Free School District that are not on the list – Garden City Park, Hillside and Manor Oaks schools – also shipped recalled products, the district's superintendent, Jennifer Morrison-Raptis, wrote. in an Oct. 11 Letter to parents.

The USDA called its list of schools “preliminary” and is still trying to determine which schools received the product, the agency said late Thursday. The list is as of Thursday, 5 p.m.

According to the USDA, no illnesses have been confirmed nationwide associated with the recalled products processed at an Oklahoma manufacturing facility operated by Oregon-based BrucePac. The USDA announced the recall of nearly 12 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry on Oct. 9 after the agency's Food Safety and Inspection Service discovered listeria during routine testing of BrucePac chicken products.

The recalled product served at the four New Hyde Park-Garden City Park schools is the Fajita Chicken Bowl, Rice, Beans and Tomato Salad, which was served on Sept. 19, Morrison-Raptis said.

Unal Karakas, superintendent of Valley Stream School District 24, said in a letter to parents on Oct. 11 that the affected product at his three schools was the “chicken with barbecue sauce” dish served for lunch on Sept. 24 became.

Roosevelt Children's Academy Charter School could not be reached for comment late Friday.

Dr. Sophia Jan, chief of general pediatrics at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, said in an email that most children who eat products contaminated with listeria suffer from mild gastroenteritis, which includes symptoms such as nausea, diarrhea, Fever, vomiting and muscle soreness include and joint pain. But they usually appear 6 hours to 10 days after eating, on average 24 hours. “Given that the recalled products were served weeks ago, the risk of gastroenteritis for most children is now very low.”

A more serious infection called invasive listeriosis has an incubation period of up to 28 days, with an average of 11, Jan said. It is most common in medically vulnerable people such as newborns, children with weakened immune systems, pregnant women and older adults, she said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, invasive listeriosis occurs when the bacteria spreads beyond the intestines.

The potentially contaminated products were sent not only to schools but also to stores across the country.

Prepared salads, chicken wraps, pasta and rice dishes, burritos and other foods – bearing establishment numbers 51205 or P-51205 within or under the USDA inspection mark – are affected by the recall and were sold by Costco, Target, Trader Joe's and Walmart sold , among other retailers. A list of products can be found on the USDA website.

A separate listeria outbreak at Boar's Head Deli has killed at least 10 people and hospitalized nearly 50 since May. According to the CDC, about 260 people die from listeria infections each year.

David Olson covers healthcare. He has worked at Newsday since 2015 and previously covered immigration, multicultural issues and religion at The Press-Enterprise in Southern California.