Ruth’s Salads of North Carolina is recalling Ruth’s Original Pimento Spread because it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. No illnesses have been reported to date, but listeriosis, the illness caused by this bacteria, can take up to 70 days to appear.
The recalled product is Ruth’s Original Pimento Spread sold in 7 ounce packages. The sell by date is 4/30/2017 and the lot number is 16. The contamination was discovered during random testing by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture. It was sold in grocery stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and parts of Virginia and Tennessee.
If you purchased this product, do not eat it. Throw it away in a sealed container so other people and animals can’t eat it, or take it back to the place of purchase for a refund. Wash your hands well with soap and water after handling the spread.
Then clean out your refrigerator or freezer or wherever you stored the product with a mild bleach solution to kill bacteria. Listeria monocytogenes bacteria can grow at refrigerator temperatures. Freezing doesn’t kill it.
If you ate this recalled product, monitor yourself for the symptoms of Listeria monocytogenes food poisoning for the next 70 days. Symptoms of that illness include high fever, stiff neck, muscle aches, abdominal pain, nausea, and diarrhea. Pregnant women may only have a mild flu-like illness, but listeriosis an cause stillbirth and miscarriage. If you do feel sick, see your doctor and tell her you ate this recalled product.
