BY MARJORIE NEEDHAM
Dole Fresh Vegetables Inc. on Jan. 22 issued a voluntary recall of its bagged salads due to the possibility of listeria contamination. The recall includes Connecticut, and it includes store brands packaged by Dole. In addition to Dole, these are Fresh Selections, Simple Truth, Marketside, The Little Salad Bar, and President’s Choice Organics. When this reporter went to Stop & Shop in Watertown Monday, all the Dole bagged salads had been removed from the shelves and notices of the recall were posted.
However, this reporter bought one of the bags of The Little Salad Bar bagged salad last Friday and ate some Saturday. So far, no symptoms, but the disease can take up to two months to appear.
People starting coming down with listeria in July 2015, and the Centers for Disease Control started seeking the source of the infection in September 2015. It was not until January 2016 that the source of the infection was determined.
The Dole press release follows. Click on the links in the press release for more information.
Dole Fresh Vegetables Inc., is temporarily suspending operations at its Springfield, Ohio production facility and is voluntarily withdrawing from the market all Dole-branded and private label packaged salads processed at that location. See the product list at http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/.
Products subject to the voluntary withdrawal are identified with a product code beginning with the letter “A” in the upper right-hand corner of the package (see example below), and are sold in the states and Canadian provinces noted below. This suspension and withdrawal is being performed voluntarily by Dole out of an abundance of caution, in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control. See more about this withdrawal at www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/.
No additional Dole facilities are affected. Other Dole products, including fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and packaged salads from Dole’s other processing facilities (with product codes beginning with the letters “B” or “N”), are not part of this voluntary withdrawal.
Retailers and consumers who have any remaining product with an “A” code should not consume it, and are urged to discard it. Retailer and consumer questions about the voluntary withdrawal should be directed to the Dole Food Company Consumer Response Center at 800-356-3111) (hours are 8 am to 8 pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday).
Retailers that carry Dole products produced in its Springfield, Ohio plant (with the product code beginning with the letter “A” in the upper right-hand corner of the package) should check their store shelves and warehouse inventories to confirm that no withdrawn product is available for purchase by consumers. Dole Fresh Vegetables’ customer service representatives have been contacting retailers, and are in the process of confirming that the withdrawn product has been removed from the supply chain.
Dole Fresh Vegetables is coordinating closely with regulatory officials.
List of states included in the voluntary withdrawal:
Alabama
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Louisiana
Michigan
Massachusetts
Maryland
Minnesota
Missouri
Mississippi
North Carolina
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Tennessee
Virginia
Wisconsin
List of provinces included in the voluntary withdrawal:
Ontario
New Brunswick
Quebec
