Costco Recalls Certain Chicken Products Due to Potential Listeria Contamination

Published: 10/21/2024, 5:18:59 PM EDT

Costco Recalls Certain Chicken Products Due to Potential Listeria Contamination — Shoppers leave a Costco store in Washington, on May 5, 2020. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

Costco recalled a number of its chicken products over the past week due to potential listeria contamination.

The big-box retailer released two statements on Thursday recalling Readywise 110 Serving Emergency Protein Bucket and Red’s Southwestern Grilled Chicken Mini Burritos.

On Oct. 14, certain lots of Ruiz El Monterey Mexican Grill Chicken & Cheese Taquitos were also recalled, followed by two meal kits from Rana: Chicken Truffle Carbonara and Tagliatelle Grilled White Chicken & Portobello Mushroom Sauce.

Readywise, a shelf-stable food company based out of Salt Lake City, voluntarily recalled their product as a precaution “due to the potential Listeria contamination in the chicken provided by one of our suppliers.” The company requested that customers refrain from eating the product, and asked them to return it to Costco for a full refund.

Readywise states that their products have shelf lives of up to 25 years, so consumers have “reliable access to nutritious and delicious food,” making the freeze-dried meats and sides ideal for customers seeking to prepare for emergencies.

Red’s stated in its notice that the company has expanded its voluntary recall on their Mini Burritos—Costco item #1850156—as a result of possible Listeria contamination.

The company warned customers against consuming the affected products and asked that they return them to Costco for a full refund.

According to a notice from Ruiz Foods, the company extended its recall to certain lots of El Monterey Mexican Grill Chicken and Cheese Taquitos that are, in turn, part of a wider recall initiated by pre-cooked meat producer BrucePac and the Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The Class 1 recall related to "a fully-cooked chicken ingredient produced in BrucePac’s Durant, Oklahoma facility due to possible listeria contamination."

The company said customers who have purchased affected chicken and cheese taquitos with specific Best-If-Used-By dates should not eat the item should return it to their local Costco for a full refund. More information can be found on their website.

“At Ruiz Foods, we are dedicated to food quality, and the health and safety of its consumers,” said Kim Carroll, president & CEO at Ruiz Food Products, Inc. “Our action ensures that any of our products that incorporated the recalled BrucePac chicken ingredient are safe. We sincerely apologize to our customers and consumers for any inconvenience this ingredient recall may have caused.”

Two items from Rana Meal Solutions are affected by the BrucePac foods recall. The affected products were sold between September and October 2024, with item numbers 1844072 and 1102200.

“Rana Meal Solutions is voluntarily recalling the Chicken Truffle Carbonara meal kit and Tagliatelle Grilled White Chicken & Portobello Mushroom Sauce meal kit due to potential contamination of Listeria,” the company notice said.

Again, the affected meal kits should not be eaten and customers can return them to Costco for a full refund.

The USDA issued the original notice on Oct. 9 before adding an updated 345-page document on Oct. 15 that listed all of the products affected by the recall thus far.

Consumers can find additional information on Costco’s website for product recalls.

BrucePac’s affected ready-to-eat meat and poultry items were produced from May 31, 2024, to Oct. 8, 2024, and were shipped to distributors and other establishments across the United States, including restaurants, schools, and other food service providers.

According to the CDC, Listeria infection can be particularly serious for adults aged 65 and over, pregnant women, newborns, and people with weak immune systems.

People affected by the infection can experience symptoms such as “fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions, sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms,” the FSIS writes.