What We Know About the Yu Shang Listeria Outbreak
CDC and FSIS investigated a multistate Listeria monocytogenes outbreak linked to ready-to-eat meat and poultry products from Yu Shang Food, Inc. of Spartanburg, South Carolina. The investigation closed on March 13, 2025 with 24 illnesses across 9 states, 22 hospitalizations, and 3 deaths including infants.
How FSIS Discovered the Source
FSIS’s routine test of a Yu Shang pork snout product on October 21, 2024 found Listeria closely related to bacteria from sick people. More product and environmental sampling at the plant found a second strain tied to eight other illnesses, and CDC combined the cases into one investigation.
The 72,240-Pound Recall
Yu Shang recalled products on November 9, 2024, and expanded the recall on November 21 to about 72,240 pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry produced before October 28, 2024. It covered pork hock, chicken feet, duck neck, beef shank, pork belly, and chicken gizzards shipped to stores nationwide and sold online. These foods are usually eaten without cooking, so nothing kills Listeria before they’re eaten.
Pregnancy and Infant Cases
Eight of the 24 illnesses were pregnancy-associated, and CDC counted three deaths. In California, a mother and her twin infants became ill, and both infants died. Listeria was confirmed only in the mother and one twin, so only they are counted among the 24 cases. In Tennessee, a mother and her infant got sick, and the infant died. Another infant in California, unrelated to those families, also died.
Why the Outbreak Lasted Years
Sample collection dates from sick people ran from October 24, 2021 to January 25, 2025. According to an FSIS after-action review released in March 2026, health officials investigated an earlier group of these illnesses in 2024 and closed that investigation without finding a source. It reopened only after the FSIS pork snout sample matched those illnesses by whole genome sequencing. FSIS’s assessments at the plant found factors that may have contributed, including inadequate sanitation, poor separation between raw and ready-to-eat operations, and changes to the facility that could have allowed cross-contamination.
Your Legal Rights
If you or a family member developed listeriosis after eating recalled Yu Shang products, your family may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, hospitalization costs, lost income, pain and suffering, and other damages. Families who lost infants or family members may pursue wrongful death claims.
Ron Simon & Associates is a food poisoning law firm that has recovered over $850 million for victims nationwide. Our Listeria lawyers focus exclusively on foodborne illness litigation and are reviewing claims from this outbreak. You pay our law firm nothing unless we recover compensation for you. Contact us for a free consultation at 1-888-335-4901.