Packaged chicken salad recall affects Georgia and South Carolina

WASHINGTON - Reser&#39;s Fine Food, Inc., of Halifax, N.C., is recalling approximately 2,200 pounds of white meat chicken salad that may be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Agriculture Department announced Sunday.<br> <br> The 12-ounce containers of &#34;Reser&#39;s Fine Foods White Meat Chicken Salad&#34; are marked with a packaging code of &#34;Aug 13-02-30&#34; and the labels bear the establishment number &#34;P-874&#34; inside the USDA seal of inspection, the announcement said.<br> <br> The containers were packed in cases that bear a case code of &#34;7111719008&#34; and &#34;Aug 13-02-30.&#34;<br> <br> The products were produced July 12, 2002, and distributed to retail outlets in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and North Carolina.<br> <br> The company notified the federal Food Safety and Inspection Service that it was recalling the products based on a positive test from a sample analyzed by the Georgia Department of Agriculture.<br> <br> Consuming food contaminated with listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease. Healthy people rarely contract it, but people with weakened immune systems are more at risk.<br> <br> The government announcement said there have been no reports of illness connected to the recalled chicken salad.<br>