Manda meat products begin returning to store shelves

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Manda Fine Meats' deli and specialty meat products are returning to store shelves this weekend.

The Baton Rouge meat packing company said in a news release that it expects distribution to be near normal within a few weeks.

Manda recalled nearly 490,000 pounds of products made at its Baker plant three weeks ago because of possible Listeria contamination, The U.S. Department of Agriculture said. The bacteria was found in roast beef at a retail establishment in Tennessee.

The Baker plant remains idle while Manda produces roast beef, ham, turkey breast, hog head cheese, corned beef and pastrami at plants approved by USDA.

Manda said it has not received any reports of illness from those products.

The company's Baton Rouge plant and the sausage products made there were not recalled.

The recall affected shipments to Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Manda Chief Executive Officer Bobby Yarborough said in the statement that the company checked 171 samples from the Baker plant and found one of potential concern. The environmental study found the facility was "extremely clean," he said.

"Making sure our facilities go above and beyond industry food safety standards is a priority for Manda Fine Meats," Yarborough said.

Manda said the Baker employees are working in other areas within the company. Some minimal cuts in hours are expected but Manda wants to keep the workers, the company said.