Salmonella Heidelberg Infections Linked to Chicken Livers from Schreiber Processing Corporation
From April 1 to November 4, 2011, a total of 157 Salmonella Heidelberg illnesses linked to kosher "broiled" chicken livers processed by Schreiber Processing Corporation of New York were reported in New York (93 cases - 56 of the cases in NYC) and New Jersey (64 cases). Among persons for whom information is available in New York and New Jersey, illnesses began on or after March 13, 2011. Ill persons range in age from <1 to 97 years with a median age of 10 years. Fifty-two percent are female. Among the 125 ill persons with available information, 21 (17%) have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
Cases in Maryland and Pennsylvania have also been reported, but the CDC still has to analyze data on these cases before they are included in the CDC count. We expect Salmonella Heidelberg cases from additional states will also be part of this outbreak.
Evidence Implicating Chicken Livers as the Outbreak Source
Epidemiologic and microbiological evidence has linked this Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak to eating “kosher broiled chicken livers” from Schreiber Processing Corporation (doing business as Alle Processing Corporation/MealMart Company), and chopped chicken liver prepared from this product:
Epidemiological Evidence: Among 30 ill persons for whom information is available, 22 (73%) reported consuming chicken liver products in the week before their illness began.
Microbiological Evidence: Laboratory testing conducted by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Laboratory Division identified the outbreak strain of Salmonella Heidelberg in samples of “kosher broiled chicken livers” and chopped liver products obtained from retail stores.
Recall Information
On November 8, 2011, Schreiber Processing Corporation, of Maspeth, New York, announced a recall of an undetermined amount of “kosher broiled chicken liver” products. These “kosher broiled chicken livers” are sold at retail stores and may be used as an ingredient in other prepared foods. These products appear to be ready-to-eat, but are in fact partially cooked, and therefore need to be fully cooked before eating. Consumers may have incorrectly thought the use of the word “broiled” in the label meant the chicken liver was ready-to-eat; however, these chicken livers must be fully cooked before eating.
The products subject to recall include:
- 10 lb. boxes with two, 5 lb. bags of “Meal Mart Broiled Chicken Liver; Made for Further Thermal Processing”
- 10 lb. boxes of loose packed “Chicken Liver Broiled”
Each bag or box bears the establishment number “P-787″ inside the USDA mark of inspection. The product was distributed to retail stores and institutional users in Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
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