TAMPA, Fla. — Dole Fresh Vegetables is recalling all packaged salads produced at two facilities due to possible listeria contamination.
The FDA said the products were produced at Dole's Bessemer City, NC and Yuma, AZ processing facilities but were sold across the country, including in Florida.
Products subject to recall have a product lot code beginning with either the letter “N” or “Y” in the upper right-hand corner of the package (see examples below) and will have a “Best if Used By” date between November 30, 2021, and January 8, 2022.
Consumers who still have any of these products in their refrigerators are urged not to consume the product and to discard it immediately.
Recalled salad items from the Bessemer City facility were distributed in the states of AL, CT, FL, GA, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MS, NC, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, and VA.
Recalled salad items from the Yuma facility were distributed in the states of AL, AZ, CT, FL, IA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MA, MI, MN, MS, NC, ND, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, and WI.
The FDA said Dole is temporarily suspending operations at both facilities to conduct an extensive cleaning and sanitation protocol. That decision was made voluntarily by Dole, the FDA said and is being done out of an abundance of caution.
According to the FDA, the decision to recall the products and suspend operations after analyzing the strain of Listeria monocytogenes isolated in a single package of Dole-branded Garden Salad produced in the Bessemer City facility and a single package of shredded iceberg lettuce produced in the Yuma, AZ facility.
Both of those items were randomly sampled by the state of Georgia and the state of Michigan, respectively, and were a genetic match with a strain of Listeria monocytogenes which FDA and CDC believe is responsible for sixteen illnesses since 2014.
The FDA said no products produced from Dole facilities in Springfield, OH (production/lot codes beginning with “W”) or Soledad, CA (production/lot codes beginning with “B”) are included in these voluntary recalls.
In addition, no other Dole products, including “ready-to-eat” salad products, fresh fruit, and field-packed fresh vegetables, are part of these voluntary recalls and are safe to consume.
Retailer and consumer questions about the voluntary recalls should be directed to the Dole Consumer Response Center at 800-356-3111, Monday—Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Pacific Time.
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