The Fresh Express spinach recall issued last week for possible Salmonella contamination is the company’s sixth recall for salad greens in the last 16 months. FIve of the last six recalls were issued on or after expiration dates and occurred after the company began using “Fresh Rinse,” an eco-friendly rinsing method the company introduced in May 2011 in lieu of chlorine washes.
Fresh Express, based in Charlotte N.C., is a leader in the bagged salad market, producing over 40 million pounds of salad each month. Three of the last six recalls have been for possible Salmonella contamination and three have been for possible contamination with Listeria Monocytogenes. Two of the recalls were for spinach, the other four were for romaine. No illness have been reported in connection with the recalls.
The current recall was issued November 7 for products with a “use by ” date of that same day. The recall is for 9 oz packages of Fresh Express Spinach with a “use by” date of November 7 and a product code of S299B25 located in upper right corner on front of package. On October 11, there was a recall of 18 0z packages of Fresh Express Hearts of Romaine Salad due to possible Salmonella contamination with a “use-by” date of October 11 and product code of S270A24.That product was primarily distributed in the western, northwestern and midwestern portions of the country.
In September, the company issued two recalls for expired products both containing romaine and both for potential contamination with Listeria which unlike other foodborne pathogens can thrive in cold temperatures. On September 27, the company issued a recall for expired products, hearts of romaine with “use by” dates of September 26 for possible Listeria contamination: 18 0z packages of Fresh Express Hearts of Romaine Salad with the expired “use-by”Date of September 26, 2012 and Product Code H256808. On September 22, it recalled 9 oz bags of Leafy Green Romaine Salad with the ‘use-by” date of September 16.
On August 26, 2012, the company recalled 10 oz. bags of Hearts of Romaine saladwith the “use-by” date of August 23, 2012 and a product code beginning with “G222” due to a possible Listeria contamination. And on April 5, 2011, one month before the introduction of Fresh Rinse, the company recalled 2,939 cases of 9 oz. bags of spinach with Product Codes starting with H081 and H082, UPC Code of 7127913204 and “use-by” dates of April 6 and 7.
Unfortunately, this reoccurring recall of spinach is not a new issue in the food industry. In fact, the Third Quarter ExpertRECALL™ Index, which provides a top-line summary of significant recall data, reported an average of four food recalls documented a day by the FDA, affecting a total of 8.5 million food and beverage units.