The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today that 12 people have been hospitalized and one has died from a listeria outbreak that has been linked to prepackaged salads produced by Dole Food Company in its Springfield, Ohio facility.
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In a statement, Dole said its other facilities are not linked to the outbreak.
The salads were sold under different brands aside from Dole, including President’s Choice, Simple Truth, The Little Salad Bar, Marketside and Fresh Selections.
“If you have eaten a Dole brand packaged salad”, the CDC said in a news release, “and do not have any symptoms, most experts believe that tests or treatment are not needed, even for persons at higher risk for listeriosis”. Health officials were ultimately able to link the issue to the Dole processing facility. There is no evidence that salads made at other facilities are contaminated with the bacteria, the CDC said.
Symptoms include fever and muscle aches, sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms.
Dole did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Dole said the voluntary recall affects salad products shipped from the OH plant to numerous states. Moreover, two noted that they had specifically eaten the Dole brand of packaged salad. The outbreak of listeria was linked to Blue Bells frozen treats and at least three people succumbed to the illness in the outbreak. The salads can be identified by a product code that begins with an “A” on the packaging and were sold in 23 USA states, including OH, and Ontario, New Brunswick and Quebec in Canada. The disease is especially risky for pregnant women, since it can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, or infection of a newborn. According to the CDC, here’s how to identify if your packaged salad could possibly be affected.
People who bought the products should throw them away and wash the refrigerator drawer where they were stored, as well as any cutting boards used to chop the greens.
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It is especially risky to children, the elderly, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems. The listeria bacteria can cause a life-threatening illness called listeriosis.
