A Listeria outbreak has prompted a recall of certain packaged salads made by Dole and sold under a variety of names. The only salads affected by this recall have product codes beginning with an “A”. No other products are affected by this recall.
The recalled products include the brand names: Dole, Fresh Selections, Simple Truth, Marketside, The Little Salad Bar, and President’s Choice. They can be identified by the letter “A” at the beginning of the manufacturing code found on the package. Consumers who have purchased these products should not eat them.
The salads were made at Dole’s Springfield, Ohio production facility where operations have been temporarily suspended. No other Dole facilities or products are affected.
States where the recalled salads were sold are: 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 and Wisconsin. They were also sold in the following Canadian provinces: Ontario, New Brunswick and Quebec.
Listeria causes severe illness and can be fatal. Symptoms of an infection, which can take up to 70 days after exposure to develop, include stiff neck, headache, muscle soreness and flu-like symptoms that are sometimes preceded by nausea, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms.
Those most at risk are young children, seniors, pregnant women and those with compromised immune systems. Among pregnant women, Listeria can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery and infection in newborns. One of the case patients in this outbreak is a pregnant woman.
Health officials are continuing to investigate the outbreak. They are using a public health database called PulseNet to identify others who may be part of this outbreak.
If you purchased any of these products, do not eat them. Throw them away in a sealed or double bagged container, or take them back to the store where you bought them for a refund. Clean out your fridge with a mild bleach solution, since Listeria bacteria can grow at refrigerator temperatures.
Would washing the lettuce salad would that help not getting listeria?
I always wash my greens in a bag before eating them.
No, unfortunately, washing greens will not get rid of all pathogenic bacteria. In fact, some studies suggest that washing prebagged salads can actually contaminate them, if your kitchen sink is not sterile.
My wife and i have eaten from bags marked with an A she has COPD and i have recently been diagnosed with Prostate Cancer should we get seen before symptoms start.
Please call your doctor and tell him about this situation. Since you have underlying health conditions, he may want to see you.
I have some fresh selections bought in Arizona and it has the A on the package. should I throw it away
According to Dole the salads weren’t sold in Arizona, but if I were you I would throw it away.
I have two packs of Marketside purchased at Walmart in Beckley WV I have been eating this brand of shredded iceberg lettuce for a long time I have photos of the bag I have eaten from and another one that is not opened both have codes beginning in AO1403B10:51 and AO1403A10:52 I am concerned since I have eaten this brand for about a couple of years now and I’m 79 years of age
Unless you have had symptoms of listeriosis you don’t need to worry. Just be aware of the symptoms as listed in the article and if you feel sick see your doctor. This is a treatable illness. Throw away the bags with the codes beginning with “A” and clean out your fridge with a mild bleach solution, then wash your hands. Or you could take the bags back to the store where you bought them for a refund.
So we just had a delicious salad last night containing spinach from Dole with this prefix A. Are we at risk? We have four immune compromised people in our home on immune suppressant therapies for a variety of health issues. Should we be concerned now? No one has developed any effects that we are aware of presently – but three of us have headaches we have assumed were weather related. This spinach was mixed into a large home made salad with kale, broccoli, carrots, onion, tomatoes and romaine lettuce which we prepared to last several days . We have now thrown the entire salad away ( very expensive loss! ;( ) and concerned should we contact physicians for potential continued risk or are we safe now…? Will there be a refund?
You can go back to the store where you bought the salad and ask about a refund. If you are ill, please contact your doctor. A blood test is the only way to diagnose Listeria food poisoning.