MONTEREY, Calif. & ORLANDO, Fla. — Two fresh-food packagers that serve the convenience-retail industry and others have issued voluntary recalls of branded and private-label packaged salads.
Dole Fresh Vegetables Inc. and Fresh Express both announced voluntary recalls for the packaged salads due to a possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination.
Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
The recall is for products from the Dole Bessemer City, N.C., and Yuma, Ariz., production facilities and the Fresh Express facility in Streamwood, Ill., which have all temporarily suspended operations to conduct an extensive cleaning and sanitation protocol.
Dole, based in Monterey, Calif., has recalled items that have a product lot code in the upper right-hand corner of packages beginning with either the letter N or Y and a “best if used by” date between Nov. 30, 2021, and Jan. 8, 2022.
The Dole recall includes products that were distributed across 25 states, including Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Fresh Express, an Orlando, Fla.-based company, has identified products subject to the recall as fresh salad items with product code Z324 through Z350 found on the front of packages under the use-by date.
The U.S. distribution of Fresh Express products includes 19 states: Connecticut, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. Distribution to Canadian provinces include Ontario and Manitoba.
Click here for a complete list of products recalled by Dole, and here for a list of products from Fresh Express.
Dole and Fresh Express retailers should check for recalled products on store shelves and in warehouses. Retailers and consumers should not eat these products and dispose of them immediately.
The Dole Consumer Response Center can be reached at (800) 356-3111 for retailer and consumer questions about the voluntary recalls. Contact the Fresh Express Consumer Response Center at (800) 242-5472 for more information or to obtain a refund. Refunds are also available where purchased.
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