Listeriosis Outbreak Associated with the Consumption of Rillettes in France in 1993

An outbreak of listeriosis involving 38 patients occurred in France between 18 June and 5 October 1993. The epidemic clone was characterized by serovar 4b, phagovar 2671:108:312, and DNA macrorestriction patterns 12 and 13. Thirty-one case-patients were materno-neonatal patients and 7 patients were nonpregnant adults. Preliminary analysis of a case-control study implicated a pork product, rillettes, of a particular brand (odds ratio, 18; 95% confidence interval, 2.2-208) as the vehicle of infection. Rillettes is a ready-to-eat food prepared with ham meat cooked with grease. The implicated lots of rillettes were recalled in mid-August, and the French authorities issued a warning to the general public. Microbiologic analysis of unopened plastic cans of rillettes confirmed the results of the case-control study 3 weeks after the recall. Final analysis showed that the rillettes was the major vehicle of the outbreak but suggested that other brand A meat products could also have been involved.