There are two deaths in a Dole bagged salads Listeria monocytogenes outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Sixteen people in 13 states are sick, and twelve people have been hospitalized.
The patient case count by state is: Idaho (1), Iowa (2), Maryland (1), Michigan (1), Minnesota (1), Nevada (1), North Carolina (1), Ohio (2), Oregon (1), Pennsylvania (1), Texas (2), Utah (1), and Wisconsin (1). Illness onset dates range from August 16, 2014 to October 17, 2021. The patient age range is from 50 to 94 years. Of fourteen people who gave information to investigators, 12 have been hospitalized. Two deaths were reported, from Michigan and Wisconsin.
Of the eight people interviewed, seven said they ate packaged salads the month before they got sick. Of three people who remembered a specific brand, two reported Dole and one reported Little Salad Bar. In October 2021 the Georgia Department of Agriculture found the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes in a Dole garden salad as part of a routine sampling program. Dole recalled some of their garden salads at that time.
That sampling was not part of this outbreak investigation, but whole genome sequencing showed that the Listeria in that garden salad was closely related to the outbreak strain. Dole has suspended operations at its Bessemer City, North Carolina and Yuma, Arizona production facilities to conduct “extensive cleaning.”
The CDC investigated this outbreak in 2019 and 2020 but was not able to gather enough data to identify the source. The CDC reopened the investigation in November 2021 when four new illnesses were reported since the end of August 2021. The CDC notice states, “After CDC reopened this outbreak investigation, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development collected samples of packaged salads from retail stores for testing and identified the outbreak strain of Listeria in a Marketside brand package of shredded iceberg that was produced by Dole.”
Dole has recalled all Dole-branded and private label packaged salads that were processed at the two facilities that produced the contaminated products. These salads were sold under many brand names, including:
- Ahold
- Dole
- Kroger
- Lidl
- Little Salad Bar
- Marketside
- Naturally Better
- Nature’s Promise
- Simply Nature
The recalled products include mixed greens, garden salads, Caesar kits, and many other types of salads packaged in bags and in clamshells. The “best if used by” dates range from 11/30/21 through 01/08/22. The product lot codes begin with the letters “N” or “Y” in the upper right hand corner of the package.
Please check that recall list and your refrigerator carefully to see if you purchased any of these items. If you did, throw them away or take them back to the place of purchase for a refund, then clean your refrigerator to kill any remaining bacteria.
If you ate any of these recalled salads, monitor your health for the symptoms of listeriosis for the next 70 days; that’s how long the incubation period can be. If you do get sick, contact your doctor as soon as possible. You may be part of this Dole bagged salads Listeria monocytogenes outbreak.
If you or a loved one have been sickened with a Listeria monocytogenes infection after eating recalled Dole, Marketside, Kroger, Ahold, or other brands of these bagged salads, please contact our experienced attorneys for help at 1-888-377-8900 or text us at 612-261-0856. Our firm represents clients in lawsuits against grocery stores and food processors, and families in wrongful death cases.
