The Recall Desk
Agency classClass IIOur severity:HighFDA (Devices)·Z-0975-2015·Announced 2015-01-21

Becton Dickinson Recalls CDC Anaerobe Agar Due to Listeria Contamination

Becton Dickinson is recalling CDC Anaerobe 5% Sheep Blood Agar due to low-level Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The affected non-sterile media were distributed worldwide.

The agency’s classification

FDA (Devices): Class II

Class II is a situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences, or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.

This is the agency’s own classification, taken from its notice. The severity score below is our assessment, not the agency’s. How recall classes work

What this means for you

Our assessment, not the agency’s: severity 3/5 (High).

Real risk of harm even if no illness or injury has been reported yet. Stop using the product and follow the agency's guidance.

Our severity reasoning: The recall involves a high-risk pathogen (Listeria monocytogenes) without reported illness, which aligns with the 'High' severity criteria in the rubric.

Plain-English summary

Becton Dickinson & Co. is recalling 1,530 cases of CDC Anaerobe 5% Sheep Blood Agar, a non-sterile culture medium used for isolating anaerobic bacteria. The recall is due to a low level of surface and subsurface contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The contamination is typically visible immediately upon removal from packaging and is observed as 1-3 colony-forming units (CFUs) per plate when present.

The affected product is identified by Catalogue # 221734 with Lot #4077423. The recall covers 9 lots of the non-sterile prepared plated media. Distribution was worldwide, including the United States (nationwide including Puerto Rico), Belgium, Canada, the Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan.

Users of this product should check their inventory for the specific catalogue and lot numbers listed. If the product is found, it should be quarantined and not used for clinical specimen processing. Becton Dickinson & Co. is the recalling firm.

The recalled product

Product
CDC Anaerobe 5% Sheep Blood Agar CDC Anaerobe 5% Sheep Blood Agar is an enriched, nonselective culture medium particularly useful or the isolation and cultivation of obligate anaerobes from clinical specimens. It supports the growth of a wide variety of obligately anaerobic…

Is your product affected?

Check your packaging against the codes below. If any of them match, the product is part of this recall.

Lot numbers (1)

  • Catalogue # 221734 with Lot #4077423

Distribution

Distributed nationwide across the United States.

The notice also names 1 state specifically:

Part of a larger recall action

This product is one of 3 recalled by Becton Dickinson & Co. under a single FDA (Devices) recall action. The agency files each product separately, so the size of the action is not visible from this page alone.

See all 3 products in this recall →

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