Infant dies after consuming recalled ready-to-eat meat

The U.S. Food Safety and Inspection service has upgraded a recall of Yu Shang Food ready to eat meat after an infant died of listeria - Image via FSIS

Safety regulators have upgraded the recall of affected products from Yu Shang Food to Class I

The U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is warning consumers that a Nov. 9 recall of read-to-eat meat is being reissued because of the seriousness of the health risk. It is now a Class I recall.

The agency reports an infant died after consuming some of the meat contaminated with listeria and at least 10 people have gotten sick.

Yu Shang Food, Inc., issued the recall earlier this month for approximately 4,589 pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products. The ready-to-eat meat and poultry items were produced from October 21 to October 27, 2024. These products have “used by” dates ranging from 21-AUG-2025 through 27-AUG-2025. 

The recalled products bear establishment number “P-46684” or “EST. M46684” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to retail locations nationwide and were available for purchase online.   

The problem was discovered after FSIS performed routine testing and follow-up activities of finished product produced by Yu Shang Food, Inc. on October 21, 2024, which confirmed the product was positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

Cases of listeria linked to the meat appeared in California, New Jersey, New York and Illinois. Infant twins in California died after eating the tainted meat, but only one death is officially attributed to the outbreak because the second twin did not test positive for listeria.

Officials are concerned because of the long shelf life of the recalled products and expect to see many more cases.

"The true number of sick people in this outbreak is also likely higher than the number reported. This is because some people recover without medical care and are not tested for Listeria," the CDC said in a statement.

What to do

FSIS said it is concerned that some products may be in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

Consumers with questions regarding the recall can send an email to yushangchicken@gmail.com or contact Ling Li, Yu Shang Food, Inc. Plant Manager, at 408-857-0901.

Consumers with food safety questions can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-MPHotline (888-674-6854) or send a question via email to MPHotline@usda.gov. For consumers who need to report a problem with a meat, poultry, or egg product, the online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at https://foodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov/eCCF/.