One person has died and at least 11 more have been hospitalized due to a Listeria outbreak linked to bagged salads produced at a single Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. facility.
Last week, Dole announced in a formal statement that it was temporarily suspending operations at its Springfield, OH production facility following a voluntary recall of Dole-branded (and some private label) packaged salads processed there. The private label brands affected include Fresh Selections, The Little Salad Bar, Marketside, President’s Choice Organics and Simple Truth. Packages printed with a manufacturing code that begins with the letter A should be thrown away immediately.
Dole says the closing of the facility and the recall are being performed “out of an abundance of caution, in collaboration with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).”
According to the CDC, the outbreak is a multistate one, so far affecting victims in Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
Besides Dole’s Springfield, OH facility, no other facilities have been affected.
In October, Dole announced a recall of bagged spinach salads distributed in 13 U.S. states that may have been contaminated with Salmonella bacteria.
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