Listeria Fears Lead Dole to Recall Salad Mix
Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. recalled select garden salads due to potential health risks from Listeria monocytogenes. The company announced the recall on October 29. Additionally, according to the company the products included in the recall were distributed in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia.
The recall follows a positive test result in a random test by the Department of Agriculture in Georgia. The garden salad tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. Although the products are beyond the “Best If Used By” date, people may still have them in their refrigerators. However, the company advises consumers to check bagged salads to make sure they are not included in the recall. Due to this, you should check lot codes, UPC Codes, and product descriptions here. Further, the recall includes only four products: 24 oz. Dole Garden Salad, 24 oz. Marketside Classic Salad, 12 oz. Kroger Brand Garden Salad, and 12 oz. Salad Classics Garden Salad. The product must have the listed Lot and UPC codes.
Prepackaged Dole Salads Linked to Prior Listeria Outbreak
This is not the first time that Dole Salads have encountered issues with Listeria monocytogenes. A few years ago, the CDC linked a multistate outbreak of listeriosis to salads produced at a Dole processing facility. Between July 2015 and January 2016, 19 people became infected
after eating these packaged salads. All 19 cases required hospitalization. The outbreak included one pregnant woman. Further, one of the 19 people hospitalized died as a result of their illness. This case count does not include those infected in Canada, where a concurrent outbreak linked to the same Dole processing facility occurred.
This previous Listeria outbreak linked to Dole salads also included a recall, and Dole stopped production at the processing facility. This outbreak also involved a positive result from a routine sampling program. In this case, the Ohio Department of Agriculture collected a Dole brand prepackaged salad from a store and isolated Listeria.
Outbreak cases occurred in people ranging in age from 3 to 83 years old, with a median age of 66. Females constituted 72% of illnesses, and all individuals infected required hospitalization. Listeriosis must be taken very seriously, as Listeria can cause serious and life-threatening illness.
About Listeria Infection
Often, food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes does not look, smell, or otherwise appear spoiled. Further, symptoms can take up to 70 days after exposure to appear. Those symptoms include neck stiffness, vomiting, severe headaches, nausea, muscle aches, and persistent fevers. Listeriosis often mimics other illnesses, and requires very specific laboratory tests to diagnose.
Groups including pregnant women, newborn babies, people above the age of 65, and people with weakened immune systems are more susceptible to infection. Pregnant women often only experience mild flu-like symptoms; however, infection can cause premature delivery, stillbirth, and infection in the newborn baby.