The FDA has sent a warning letter dated September 25, 2020 to Dole Fresh Vegetables at 2959 Salinas Highway in Monterey, California, after failure to comply with preventive controls of thee Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food regulation. The product, HEB Tuscan Herb Chopped Salad Kit, was recalled in March 2020 for undeclared peanuts, wheat, soy, and tree nuts, four of the major food allergens. The FDA states that the company said that the mislabeling occurred when the incorrect masterpack kit, which is the kit containing the dressing and other toppings, was "unintentionally used during the production of the salad." The company also stated that the firm "did not have a robust enough verification process for product … [Read more...]
Food Poisoning Bulletin Breaks Story: Dole Knew About Listeria
On March 10, 2016, Food Poisoning Bulletin broke the story that Dole knew about Listeria contamination in its plant long before this year's deadly listeriosis outbreak that was linked to its salad products. Carla Gillespie submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the Food and Drug Administration in February 2016, asking for reports of inspections at Dole facilities, particularly the company's plant in Springfield, Ohio. We were the first news outlet to do so. Now the Justice Department is opening an investigation into that outbreak and how Dole handled it. In the documents we received, the company found Listeria in the plant in early 2014 and "infrequently" in the years before that. In fact, in 2014 Dole recalled many of its bagged salads for possible Listeria monocytogenes … [Read more...]
Justice Department Launches Investigation of Dole Listeria Outbreak
The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the Dole Listeria outbreak, according to a statement on the company's website. Listeria outbreaks in the U.S. and Canada were linked to salads produced at the company's plant in Springfield, Ohio. Thirty three people were sickened between July 2015 and January 2016, four people died. Years before the outbreak, Dole found Listeria at the plant, Food Poisoning Bulletin was first to report in March 2016 by obtaining records through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The documents show the company found Listeria in the plant in early 2014 and “infrequently” before that. The records, dating back to a 2012 inspection triggered by a Listeria recall show FDA investigators noted the plant is not constructed in a … [Read more...]
Dole Found Listeria in Springfield Plant Years Before Outbreak
Years before salads produced at Dole's plant in Springfield, Ohio were linked to Listeria monocytogenes outbreaks in the U.S. and Canada, the company found Listeria there, FDA inspection records show. One of the records, obtained by Food Poisoning Bulletin through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, shows the company found Listeria in the plant in early 2014 and "infrequently" before that. The records, dating back to a 2012 inspection triggered by a Listeria recall of American Blend salad, offer a glimpse inside the facility which has been closed since January when the outbreaks were announced. During the inspections, FDA investigators noted the plant is not constructed in a manner that allows floors and walls to be kept in good repair. Specifically, they cite cracks in the … [Read more...]
Dole Salads, 4 Listeria Recalls, in 4 Years and 1 for Salmonella
Since 2012, salads made by Dole have been recalled for Listeria four times and for Salmonella once. The current recall, for all salads with product codes beginning with the letter “A”, sold under the following names: Dole, Fresh Selections, Simple Truth, Marketside, The Little Salad Bar, and President’s Choice. The letter "A' in the product code currently indicates that the salads were made at the company's plant in Springfield, Ohio which has been closed for two weeks. Tests performed in November 2015 by the Ohio Department of Agriculture's Consumer Protection Laboratory, confirmed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in a bag of salad produced at the plant. The Public Health Agency of Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have performed tests confirming that the strain in … [Read more...]
FDA Lists Salads Recalled in Dole Listeria Monocytogenes Outbreak
The FDA has listed salad products that have been recalled in the ongoing Dole prepackaged salad Listeria monocytogenes outbreak. This list of salads is not necessarily complete. Consumers need to know that any salads that have a manufacturing code beginning with the letter "A" were produced at the Dole plant in Ohio and have been recalled. The types of salad blends produced at the Springfield Ohio plane include American salads, arugula salads, Asian salads, bacon and bleu cheese salads, BBQ Ranch salads, Caesar salads, chipotle and cheddar salads, coleslaw, field green salads, and garden salads. They also include iceberg salads, Italian blend salads, kale salads, lettuce salads, Mediterranean salads, romaine salads, sesame ginger salads, Southwest salads, spinach salads, spring mix … [Read more...]
Stores Recalling Dole Prepackaged Salads for Listeria Identified
Food Poisoning Bulletin has visited the web sites of the major grocery stores around the country to see which of them have issued recalls for the Dole prepackaged salads linked to a deadly Listeria monocytogenes outbreak. These recall notices not only will help consumers determine if they purchased the recalled products, but they also help identify the names of some of the recalled products. The stores issuing recalls are: Giant, Kroger, ALDI, Price Chopper, Walmart, Fred Meyer, Schnucks, Meijer, ShopRite, Stop n Shop, Food 4 Less, Jay C, FoodsCo, and PriceRite. Other stores may have also issued recalls; this is not a definitive list. Remember that the recalled salads were shipped to these states: Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, … [Read more...]
Kroger Pulls Dole, Simple Truth and Fresh Selections Salads
Kroger is pulling Dole, Simple Truth and Fresh Selections salads from store shelves after salads made at a Dole facility in Springfield, Ohio were linked to a Listeria outbreak. Twelve people have been sickened in this outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Stores that carried salads made at the facility include all Jay C, Food 4 Less and FoodsCo stores and Kroger stores in the following areas: the Greater Cincinnati area including Northern Kentucky and Dayton, Ohio and Southeastern Indiana; Central and Northwest Ohio; the Northwestern Virginia panhandle; Michigan; Indiana, excluding Southeast Indiana and Evansville; Illinois; Eastern Missouri; the Greater Memphis area, Tennessee; Arkansas; Mississippi; Western Kentucky; Hopkinsville and Bowling … [Read more...]
Four People in New York Sickened in Listeria Outbreak
At least four people in New York state have been sickened with Listeria monocytogenes food poisoning in an outbreak associated with eating certain bagged salads. Whole genome sequencing performed on clinical isolates from all ill persons showed that the bacteria are highly genetically related to each other. All four sickened in that state have been hospitalized. Nationally, the case count by state is: Indiana (1), Massachusetts (1), Michigan (4), New Jersey (1), New York (4), and Pennsylvania (1). The age range of patients is from 3 years to 83 years, and 69% of those sickened are female. In November 2015, the Ohio Department of Agriculture collected a Dole brand Field Greens packaged salad from a retail store and isolated Listeria monocytogenes that was highly related to the … [Read more...]
Dole Salads Recalled in Canada
Last week, the Public Health Agency of Canada issued a press release stating that an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes food poisoning had sickened at least 7 people in five provinces. On Friday, January 22, 2016, the CDC in the United States said that there is a Listeria outbreak in that country linked to Dole prepackaged salads. The recall in Canada is for many different kinds of prepackaged Dole salads. And the recall also answers a question we had here at Food Poisoning Bulletin: it states "The products listed below may have been repackaged or transformed into various in-store produced products, such as in-store made salads." You can see the long list of recalled products at the CFIA web site. They include Classic Iceberg Salad, Classic Romaine, Greener Selection, Colorful … [Read more...]
