Taco Recall as Urgent Warning Issued Over Products

A taco product has been recalled over fears it may contain the bacterium that causes listeria.

Rizo-López Foods and Fresh Creations Foods have recalled a chicken taco kit because it contains a dairy product that may carry the Listeria monocytogenes bacterium. The February 12 company announcement on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) website follows on from a wider recall of Rizo-López dairy products that may also carry listeria.

The latest recall is of the Chicken Street Taco kit with a UPC number of 205916414990 and a best-by date between November 29, 2023 and March 4, 2024. The affected product was sold in Sprouts stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee.

The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are “investigating illnesses in a multi-year, multistate outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections linked to queso fresco and cotija cheeses manufactured by Rizo-López Foods,” the statement said.

Newsweek has contacted Rizo-López Foods and Sprouts via email for comment outside of normal working hours.

According to product images provided by the FDA, the product comes in a black tray with an off-white label with the product name in black lettering. The product contains six servings of tacos. No illnesses have been reported so far from consuming the taco kit.

Anyone who has purchased the product is urged to either throw it away or return it to the point of purchase for a full refund. The FDA also urges “that anyone who purchased or received any recalled products to use extra vigilance in cleaning and sanitizing any surfaces and containers that may have come in contact with these products to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.”

It is one of several food items containing a dairy product made by Rizo-López Foods to undergo a recall recently, with 111 products currently being recalled as per the FDA. Ready Pac Foods has also voluntarily recalled four salad kits containing elements made by the company due to the potential presence of listeria.

Rizo Lopez Foods CEO Edwin Rizo told Newsweek on February 7: “As soon as we were aware of this, we made the immediate decision to stop production and voluntarily recall all our products manufactured in our facility.

“We are working hard and diligently to find the root cause of the problem and take corrective actions to prevent it from happening again. The health and well-being of our customers is our top priority. We have always aimed to provide the highest quality products and are committed to doing the right thing to protect the health of our consumers.”

Listeria can cause life-threatening illness in children, the elderly, pregnant people and those with compromised immune systems. According to the FDA, symptoms can begin in the days and weeks following infection.

Mild symptoms may include a fever, muscle aches, tiredness, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. If a more serious infection occurs, it can result in a headache, a stiff neck, loss of balance, confusion and convulsions.