Federal officials say a Canadian company has recalled some packages of prosciutto ham shipped to Michigan because of bacterial contamination. The U.S. Food Safety Inspection Service says the contamination by a variety of listeria was discovered during a routine inspection.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the ham was shipped by Santa Maria Foods in Brampton, Ontario. The agency says to look for this information on the label:
"Approximately 50-pound boxes labeled “PROSCIUTTO x 4 GOLD” with the case codes BR031356 or BR031374, produced on November 14 and 15, 2013. Each box contains four individually packaged hams with the codes BR031341 or BR031354"
USDA says listeria can cause potentially serious health problems, especially for older adults, infants, the chronically ill, and women who are pregnant. According to the agency, "Listeriosis can cause fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. An invasive infection spreads beyond the gastrointestinal tract. In pregnant women, the infection can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery or life-threatening infection of the newborn. In addition, serious and sometimes fatal infections in older adults and persons with weakened immune systems. Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics. Persons in the higher-risk categories who experience flu-like symptoms within two months after eating contaminated food should seek medical care and tell the health care provider about eating the contaminated food."
