Happy Apple Company is expanding their recall of caramel apples to include Kroger brand caramel apples. These apples are associated with the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak that has sickened at least 32 people in 11 states and killed six. Three children have developed Listeria meningitis as a result of their illnesses.
The Kroger apples have a best use by date between September 15 and November 18, 2014 and were sold in single packs and three packs. They were distributed to retailers in Arizona, Alaska, Kansas, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. You can see pictures of product labels at the FDA web site.
Bidart Brothers, one of Happy Apple’s suppliers, recently told the company that there may be a connection between the outbreak at apples they sold to make caramel apples.
Happy Apples ceased production at the end of October and the apples are no longer available in stores. The apples do have a shelf life of about a month. In any case, since listeriosis, the illness caused by the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria, can take up to 70 days to make someone sick, so consumers need to be aware of this recall.
If you purchased any of these caramel apples from Kroger, do not eat them. Discard in a double bag so other people and animals can’t eat them, or return to the place of purchase for a refund, then wash your hands well with soap and water. Clean out the cupboard and/or refrigerator where the products were stored with a mild bleach solution; Listeria bacteria can grow at refrigerator temperatures.
If you ate any commercially prepared, prepackaged caramel apple this fall or early winter, monitor yourself for the symptoms of listeria for 70 days from the time you ate it. Those symptoms include high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Pregnant women are susceptible to this infection because it can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature labor, and even an infection in the newborn baby even if the woman is only mildly sick. If you do get sick, see your doctor immediately and tell her you ate this recalled product.
