Did listeria find its way into Valley Stream District 24 lunchrooms?

The barbecued chicken option served at Valley Stream District 24 cafeterias on Sept. 24 may have contained listeria, a common and potentially fatal foodborne pathogen. The first warning came straight from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Oct. 9, announcing a nationwide recall of BrucePac ready-to-eat meat and poultry products.

The district’s barbecued chicken meals represented a drop in the vast ocean of tainted products — totaling 12 million pounds — pulled from grocery stores, wholesale clubs, restaurants, and schools in over a dozen states.

The Takeaway 

• The USDA recalled 12 million pounds of BrucePac’s ready-to-eat poultry products due to listeria contamination, which included barbecued chicken served at Valley Stream District 24 on September 24, with Whitsons Culinary Group notifying the district two days later.
• Superintendent Unal Karakas assured parents that contaminated meals were removed from cafeterias and, although no illnesses have been reported, the district is monitoring students with help from the Nassau County Department of Health.
• Listeria is notoriously difficult to eliminate due to its ability to survive on surfaces and spread through soil and water, and neither BrucePac nor Whitsons has addressed questions about their safety procedures.

But it wasn’t until two days after the recall that Whitsons Culinary Group, the district’s food vendor, informed Superintendent Unal Karakas about contamination in their packaged barbecued chicken meals. That same day, Karakas gave the unnerving notice to parents. In his letter, he assured them that the district’s cafeterias had discontinued serving the meal and purged any remains from its storage rooms.

“We have received no reports of illness within our district,” Karakas said in a statement. “Whitsons has assured us that, at this time, there have been no reports of adverse reactions related to the consumption of these meals.”

Students remain symptom-free so far

While District 24, with a student body of over 1,000, seems to have weathered the food scare without any reported ailments or hospitalizations, it may not be out of the woods quite yet. Tracing listeria after an outbreak is especially difficult, because symptoms — convulsions, diarrhea, fever, muscle aches — may not appear for up to 10 weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Karakas assured the "district has been in close contact with Whitsons and the Nassau County Department of Health to ensure all safety protocols were rigorously followed," and will continue to monitor the situation in  partnership with health care providers and the Nassau County Department of Health. 

Why listeria is a stubbornly lurking threat

The USDA announced the recall after officials discovered listeria in samples of ready-to-eat poultry products during routine testing. While the federal department’s initial list flagged 75 meat and chicken items, the expanded recall now includes hundreds of prepared meal products sent to scores of schools across several states and big national chains.   

Listeria kills roughly 260 people in the U.S. annually. Of the 1,600 people who contract the disease each year, about 1,500 will be hospitalized, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Populations most at risk include people with compromised immune systems, pregnant women, and the elderly.

One glaring question is how the contamination was allowed to take root.

While unsanitary food processing facilities can certainly be a breeding ground for the bacteria, health experts say listeria is persistently challenging to fend off even amidst improvements in sanitation procedures and better detection technology. Not only can it be introduced through the soil, water, and rotting vegetation, but multiples quickly when food touches contaminated surfaces and is notoriously tough to scrub clean even after aggressive sanitation.

Neither BrucePac nor Whitsons Culinary Group, which sources products from the mass meat and poultry producer, responded to inquiries about their vetting protocols or regulatory oversight.

“The health and safety of our students remain our top priority, and we have closely communicated with both Whitsons and the Nassau County Department of Health,” said Karakas who did not directly answer questions about whether the district would re-evaluate its choice of food vendor or implement new sanitary regulations in light of the recall.

Karakas did say, however, that the Whitsons Culinary Group “encouraged parents to contact their child’s healthcare provider if they are concerned about an illness.”

Have an opinion on this article? Send an email to jlasso@liherald.com.