Listeria is a bacterium that lives in animals' digestive tracts but can cause an illness called listeriosis when consumed by humans. This happens when fruit and vegetable crops are contaminated by animal waste. That can happen because of tainted irrigation or wash water, or because animals got into the field.
What are the Listeria symptoms?
Due to the proliferation of Listeria-infected food products, it is important for us to know the
symptoms of listeria (
"Listeria symptoms").
Symptoms of a listeria infection are fever and muscle aches, sometimes associated with diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. It's especially harmful to older adults, newborns and pregnant women, but healthy people may consume the bacteria without getting sick, according to the CDC. Listeriosis can prompt dehydration from vomiting and diarrhea and be especially harmful to people, about 1,600 people get sick and 260 people die due to listeria infection every year.
Blue Bell ice cream and Sabra classic hummus tested positive for listeria contamination
Listeria monocytogenes was recently found in a cup of ice cream recovered from the hospital. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned consumers not to eat any Blue Bell-branded products made at the company's Broken Arrow plant. That includes 3-ounce servings of
Blue Bell ice cream from this plant that went to institutions in containers marked with the letters O, P, Q, R, S or T behind the coding date.
Production at the Blue Bell plant in Broken Arrow is shut down due to the contamination, and experts said Listeria is very tricky, because it's a type of bacteria that could come from anywhere.
"
Broken Arrow Loves Blue Bell" (BA) plant shut down last week after some flavors of ice
cream made there tested positive for Listeria. The company has now recalled at least seven flavors after being contaminated with Listeria, causing illnesses and even deaths in Kansas and Texas.
Blue Bell has said the recall "in no way includes Blue Bell ice cream half gallons, pints, quarts, 3 gallons or other 3 oz. cups."
Another food maker,
Sabra Dipping Company, has recalled its
classic hummus due to a Listeria contamination. Sabra Dipping Company has recalled 30,000 cases of its
classic flavor hummus over possible listeria contamination.
