A listeria outbreak across six states has left one dead and 11 hospitalized, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported.
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One Michigan man died and 12 people have been hospitalized, including one pregnant woman, in New York, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and MA.
Although, the CDC further added that there is no evidence yet that suggest that listeria is also linked to the packaged salads produced at other facilities of Dole Foods in the United States.
The sole death linked to the outbreak was of a person who lived in Macomb County.
The salads were sold under the names, including Simple Truth, Marketside, Dole, Fresh Selections, The Little Salad Bar, and President’s Choice.
Other products, including fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as packaged salads from Dole’s other facilities are not part of the withdrawal, the company said. The packages’ manufacturing code begins with the letter “A”, the CDC said in an advisory.
Of five ill people who were asked about packaged salad, all five reported eating a packaged salad. Dole said it is now withdrawing all salad products that were produced at the facility in Springfield, Ohio, and the CDC has advised consumers and restaurants to throw out the salad immediately.
As a result, Dole is recalling all packaged salads produced there.
Listeria specimens were collected from July 5, 2015, to December 23, 2015. The strain of listeria was “highly related genetically” to the listeria that had made people sick. The investigation kicked off in September 2015, however the source of the outbreak remained unclear until this January.
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The CDC recommends washing any drawers the salad packages were stored in, as well as any utensils or cutting boards that came into contact with the product. Dole announced they ceased the operations in the said facility. Symptoms of an infection, which can take up to 70 days after exposure to develop, include stiff neck, headache, muscle soreness and flu-like symptoms that are sometimes preceded by nausea, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms.
