If You Bought Any Of These Chicken Products From Target, Trader Joe’s, Or Amazon, Throw Them Away Now

The USDA finally released a list of chicken products recalled due to listeria fears last week. The first recall on October 9 identified only the name of the company that produces the chicken, BrucePac, instead of the name symbols on the package, and now we know that the chicken was sold in supermarkets throughout the country, including Amazon, Kroger, Trader. Joe’s, Aldi, HEB, Target, Walmart, and 7-11, among others.

Last Wednesday, the USDA recalled 10 million pounds of ready-to-eat chicken produced from June 19, 2024, to October 8, 2024, at the Oklahoma plant owned by BrucePac. But as we noted at the time, that chicken was sold in establishments and under different brand names to retailers, even though the USDA did not have a list available when the recall was first announced.

The current recall list is more than 300 pages long and is expected to grow as the agency gathers more information, according to the USDA. The menu includes taco kits, sandwiches, salads, and wraps—chicken products of all kinds under dozens of different brand names across the country. Unfortunately, the recall list is a very unusable PDF as a way to present information.

In an ideal world, there would be a website landing page where consumers could visit and see a list of vendors for this particular poultry recall and perhaps expand the list to see which products from that vendor were recalled.

The list of chicken brands includes but is not limited to, Fresh Express, Boston Market, Jenny Craig, Dole, El Monterey, Don Pancho’s, and Signature Select. Store brands of chicken products at HEB, Kroger, Amazon Fresh, Wegman’s, and Trader Joe’s are also affected.

As the USDA notes in a news release, listeria is a problem because it can cause “fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions sometimes caused by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms.” Listeria is also a serious problem for pregnant women and can cause miscarriages.

No illnesses have been reported related to this outbreak so far, but listeria can take a long time before people show symptoms. Boar’s Head meat was recently recalled for listeria that has killed 10 people and sickened at least 59 people in 19 states. The company has permanently closed one plant linked to the outbreak and Democrats have called for a criminal investigation into the listeria outbreak.

BrucePac did not respond to emailed questions, both last week and Tuesday, about what specific products consumers should look for. The last public statement posted on the company’s website is dated October 11 and reads, “Your safety is our top priority, and we are committed to food safety,” along with general information.