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Dole Fresh Vegetables announced a precautionary recall of all Dole-branded and private label packaged salads processed at its Bessemer City, North Carolina, and Yuma, Arizona processing facilities due to the possible health risk.
The recalled items were shipped nationwide.
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dole is also temporarily suspending operations at both facilities “to conduct an extensive cleaning and sanitation protocol.”
Products subject to the voluntary recall can be identified by a product lot code beginning with the letter “N” or “Y” in the upper right-hand corner of the package and will have a “Best if Used By” date between Nov. 30, 2021, and Jan. 8, 2022, on the label.
The decision to suspend operations and recall all products from the two facilities was made after a strain of Listeria was found isolated in a single package of Dole-branded Garden Salad produced in the Bessemer City facility and a single package of shredded iceberg lettuce produced in the Yuma plant.
Officials said that both of the items were randomly sampled by the state of Georgia and the state of Michigan, and were a genetic match with a strain of Listeria monocytogenes which the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) believe is responsible for sixteen illnesses since 2014.
The FDA said that retailers have been advised to check store shelves and warehouse inventories to confirm that no recalled product is available for purchase by consumers.
According to FSIS, consumption of food contaminated with L. monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, a serious infection that primarily affects older adults, those with weakened immune systems, pregnant women, and their newborns.
Less commonly, others outside those risk groups are affected.
“Listeriosis can cause fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms.
"An invasive infection spreads beyond the gastrointestinal tract. In pregnant women, the infection can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery, or life-threatening infection of the newborn. In addition, serious and sometimes fatal infections in older adults and persons with weakened immune systems.”
Listeria affects approximately 1,600 Americans each year, killing around 260, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Most people suffer only spiking fever, stomachaches, nausea, diarrhea, and headaches.
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