Egg recall prompts public health alert over Cheesewich meal
Federal food inspectors are warning people against consuming ready-to-eat packages of a pre-cooked meal of bacon and eggs by Cheesewich and sold at large retailers and convenience stores.
The 3.6-ounce "Bacon N Eggs" packages are a concern because they contain hard-boiled eggs from an outside vendor recalled in a multistate outbreak of listeria, according to a public health alert issued this week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes hard-boiled eggs produced by Almark Foods are contaminated with listeria that has sickened seven people in Florida, Maine, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas. One person in Texas died and four others were hospitalized as a result of the infection, the CDC reported.
The Cheesemark product with ingredients containing recalled eggs have "use by" dates of Dec. 27, 2019; Jan. 3, 2020; Jan. 23, 2020; Jan. 30, 2020; Feb. 6, 2020; Feb. 14, 2020; and Feb. 28, 2020. They also bear one of the following lot codes: 281191, 302191, 309191, 316191, 323191, 331191, 336191, 344191.
The Cheesewich meal subject to the USDA's alert is sold at convenience stores and by third parties to retailers including Amazon, Costco and Walmart. Cheesewich, a family-owned business based in Hodgkins, Illinois, makes a range of ready-to-eat meals and snacks. Just one of its bacon and egg meals was the sunject of the health alert.
Potentially tainted eggs from Almark have recently prompted product recalls at numerous companies over possible listeria contamination. This week, those include veggie ramen by Veggie Noodle Co. and two snack products made by FiveStar Gourmet Foods.
A list of additional recalled products involved in the outbreak can be found here.
This story was updated to clarify that the USDA's health alert pertains to a single Cheesewich meal product.
