WASHINGTON — Thirteen D.C. schools may have ready-to-eat meat and poultry products that have been recalled for possible listeria contamination, according to a list from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.
Nearly 12 million pounds of products made by BrucePac, an Oregon-based company, have been recalled since earlier this month. Hundreds of affected products are sold at Walmart, Target, Costco, Kroger, Trader Joe’s and other major retailers across the country. But now, USDA is saying the recalled products may have been sent to some schools in D.C.
USDA said the potentially contaminated products were made between June 19 and Oct. 8 at the company’s precooked meat plant in Durant, Oklahoma. The products were then shipped to restaurants, food service vendors, schools and other sites across the country.
A list identifying 200 schools across Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. was released by USDA last week. Thirteen of those schools are in the District.
These are the D.C. schools that may have the contaminated meat:
Bridges Public Charter School
District of Columbia International School
DC Prep Anacostia Elementary Campus
DC Prep Anacostia Middle Campus
DC Prep Benning Elementary Campus
DC Prep Edgewood Elementary Campus
DC Prep Edgewood Middle Campus
Hope Community Charter School Tolson Campus
Ingenuity Prep Public Charter School
Learn D.C. Public Charter School
Richard Wright Public Charter School
Two Rivers Public Charter School 26th St Campus
Two Rivers Public Charter School 4th St Campus
Listeria was initially detected in poultry samples during a routine test at the plant with USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service officials. BrucePac chicken was later found to be the source after further testing.
A 372-page document with all of the products included in the recall was shared on Oct. 15. Ready-to-eat salads, chicken salad, wraps and frozen meals with best-by dates between June 19, 2025 to Oct. 8, 2025 are included.
Any items on this recall list should immediately be thrown out, USDA said. The full document can be found here:
Eating listeria-contaminated foods can cause a serious infection called listeriosis. Symptoms of the infection include fever, muscle aches, tiredness, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions. Older people, people with weakened immune systems and people who are pregnant are at higher risk of more severe infection.
Though the CDC says symptoms usually start within two weeks of consumption, it can take up to 10 weeks.
Currently, there have been no confirmed reports of illness linked to this recall, but a similar recall of Boar’s Head meat and poultry products earlier this year hospitalized 59 people and killed 10 from listeria.