The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is warning the public not to consume any ready-to-eat or smoked meat products purchased from the Bellville Meat Market on or after Oct. 6.

The market is at 36 South Front St. in Bellville, about 60 miles northwest of Houston, in Austin County.

DSHS laboratory testing detected Listeria monocytogenes in summer sausage from the market. The testing was done as part of a routine DSHS inspection. Other products in the warning include smoked sausage, meat snack sticks and jerky. Customers are advised to discard any of these products.

The products were sold in bulk at the market and may also have been sold in packages at other locations in the area. The packages may be labeled “Bellville Meat Market.”

Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium, can cause listeriosis. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches and sometimes diarrhea or nausea. Headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance or convulsions may occur if the infection spreads to the nervous system. The incubation period is usually from 12 hours to three weeks but can be longer.

Healthy adults and children rarely become seriously ill from Listeria infection.

Pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are at greater risk. Pregnant women may only have mild cases of the illness, but infections during pregnancy can lead to premature delivery, miscarriage, stillbirths or babies being born with infections that can be life threatening.

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