CDC: 1 Dead In Michigan From Listeria Linked To Dole Salads

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) started their Listeria investigation last September 2015 and the first case of Listeria-related illnesses was first reported last July 5, 2015. The CDC said there is no current proof suggesting packed salads in other Dole facilities are contaminated or linked to the current listeria outbreak.

“This packaged salad was produced at the Springfield, Ohio Dole processing facility”, said the CDC. The packages’ manufacturing code begins with the letter “A”, the CDC said in an advisory.

Of five ill people who were asked about packaged salad, all five reported eating a packaged salad. Dole said that other products such as fresh vegetables and fruits and packed salads from their other facilities are not part of the current recall.

Seven people have been hospitalized for Listeria in five Canadian provinces, and 12 people have been treated in seven states. Listeria can cause a serious, life-threatening illness.

One death and 12 illnesses from listeria have been linked to Dole’s Springfield plant, leading the company to voluntarily shut down the site.

Epidemiologic and laboratory evidence available at this time indicates that packaged salads produced at the Dole processing facility in Springfield, Ohio and sold under various brand names are the likely source of this outbreak.

Dole Fresh Vegetables Inc. announced the product recall on their website.

“This suspension and withdrawal is being performed voluntarily by Dole out of an abundance of caution”, Dole said in a statement.

Stores under Kroger’s corporate umbrella in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, as well as portions of Missouri and Alabama, are affected, according to Keith Dailey, Kroger director of media relations/corporate communications. The CDC said it linked the outbreak to the Dole salads this month after OH agriculture officials found listeria in a bag bought at a retail location.

It is especially unsafe to children, the elderly, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems.

Known by the scientific name Listeria monocytogenes, it is the bacterium which causes listeriosis – an infection that affects the gastrointestinal tract.