1,513 lbs Guanciale Pulled from US Retail Shelves on Listeria

For retail operators, the recall of imported guanciale is an immediate shelf-level sweep, not an abstract regulatory notice. Because the product is a ready-to-eat specialty item with a best-if-used-by date of May 16, 2027, units could still be sitting in deli cases, charcuterie boards, or back-of-house inventory. Store-level teams should check item-level lot codes against 263311US and the establishment code IT 1937 L CE to pull affected product before sale.

USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a Class I recall for approximately 1,513 pounds of imported ready-to-eat dry-cured pork jowl, a specialty Italian product known as guanciale, after routine import reinspection testing detected Listeria monocytogenes. The recall, announced on September 8, 2026, centers on a single production lot, number 263311US, produced at Est. 1937L Bome SRL in Italy on May 21, 2026 and imported to the United States in July 2026. The product carries a best-if-used-by date of May 16, 2027 and the EU establishment code IT 1937 L CE, creating an unusually wide potential retail and food service exposure window because the item could remain in commerce for more than eight months after its production date.

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Store-level teams should check item-level lot codes against 263311US and the establishment code IT 1937 L CE to pull affected product before sale.

The recall involves two U.S. import and distribution firms. Prime Line Distributors, Inc., based in Florida, shipped recalled guanciale to food service and retail locations within Florida. Ferrarini USA, Inc., based in New Jersey, distributed the affected product to distributors and food service businesses in California, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Texas. This eight-state footprint plus Florida means the recall touches both direct-to-retail and indirect distributor channels, forcing companies at multiple supply-chain layers to verify whether they received the specific lot. Because guanciale is a dry-cured, ready-to-eat pork jowl product that is typically sliced and consumed without a final cooking kill step, any Listeria contamination on the product presents a direct food-safety risk rather than a risk that could be mitigated by consumer preparation.

FSIS identified the contamination during routine import reinspection testing, an entry-point control that samples imported meat and poultry products before and after they clear U.S. borders. The positive test triggered an immediate Class I recall, the agency's highest-risk designation, which is reserved for situations where there is a reasonable probability that consumption will cause serious adverse health consequences or death. This classification underscores that Listeria monocytogenes is not a spoilage organism but a virulent pathogen, and it shifts the regulatory response from routine product action to public health alert and supply-chain containment.

Listeriosis can produce fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, and gastrointestinal symptoms, and symptoms can appear within two months after exposure. The infection is particularly dangerous for pregnant women, newborns, adults over 65, and people with weakened immune systems. FSIS has advised anyone who develops flu-like symptoms after consuming the recalled guanciale to seek medical attention. As of September 8, 2026, no confirmed illnesses had been reported, according to Food Safety News. The absence of reported cases at the time of announcement is consistent with early detection and recall, but public health officials will continue monitoring given the pathogen's long incubation period and the product's extended shelf life.