Holiday plans were thrown into chaos as Kraft Heinz and federal food safety officials moved to pull more than 367,000 pounds of Oscar Mayer turkey bacon from shelves. Sold at major retailers like Target and shipped as far as the British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong, the products are suspected of being contaminated with listeria, a bacteria that can quietly turn a simple breakfast into a medical emergency.
For most, symptoms might look like a passing flu — fever, headache, diarrhea. But for pregnant women, newborns, the elderly, and anyone with a weakened immune system, listeria can be deadly. That’s why officials aren’t taking chances, even though no illnesses have been reported yet. Consumers are being urged to check their fridges, throw the products away, or return them to stores. One careless oversight now could become the tragedy no family expects from a holiday meal.