Listeria Scare at Walmart Delis Leads to Nationwide Recall

Aug. 24, 2010— -- What's left of 160 tons of roast beef, ham, and salami sent this summer to Walmart stores across the country is being recalled because of possible contamination with Listeria, a potentially harmful bacteria.

The meats were not sold directly to consumers. Instead, the 380,000 pounds of meats were distributed by Zemco Industries of Buffalo, N.Y., to Walmarts for use in their in-store delis to make sandwiches.

"The problem was discovered as a result of a retail sample collected by the state of Georgia that confirmed positive for Listeria monocytogenes," the Agriculture Department said in a news release.

By now, a spokesman for Zemco told ABC News, most of the "Marketside Grab and Go" sandwiches sold in the Walmart delis had probably been eaten. The USDA has received no reports of Listeriosis, a potentially fatal disease.

Walmart has been instructed to remove any leftover Black Forest Ham, Angus Roast Beef or Hard Salami and destroy it.

It wasn't immediately clear how many stores sold the meat products. A spokeswoman for Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation's largest retailer, could not say where it was sold.

A retail sample collected in Georgia tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes, Agricultural Department spokesman Gary Mickelson said. The organism can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and in others with weakened immune systems.

The products being recalled included Black Forest Ham With Natural Juices Coated with Caramel Color; Hot Ham, Hard Salami, Pepperoni, Sandwich Peppers; Virginia Brand Ham With Natural Juices, Made in New York, Fully Cooked Bacon, Sandwich Pickles, Sandwich Peppers; and Angus Roast Beef Coated with Caramel Color.