Dole Food Company recalls prepackaged salads after listeria death, 12 others ill

A Macomb County, Michigan resident has died due to a listeria outbreak in Dole packaged salads, according the the Centers for Diseased Control. In addition to the states where people have been hospitalized, the states also included in the voluntary recall are Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Twelve people infected with the outbreak strain of Listeria have been reported from six states since July 5, 2015.

One death and 12 other illness outbreaks, including in MA, have been traced back to packaged salads produced at a Dole factory in Ohio.

Five of the five ill people who were asked about the packaged salad reported eating the salad in the month before becoming ill.

The salads that have been recalled all belonged to the Dole processing facility in Springfield, Ohio.

Throw it away in a closed plastic bag placed in a sealed trash can. The CDC reports that there is no evidence that other salads made at other facilities have any contamination. The salads are packaged and sold under various brand names, but they all seem to have originated from the same plant.

The CDC says Dole has stopped all production at the Springfield, Ohio, plant and is withdrawing packaged salads on the market that were produced there. The salads can be identified by a product code that begins with an “A” on the packaging and were sold in 23 USA states, including OH, and Ontario, New Brunswick and Quebec in Canada. The investigation kicked off in September 2015, however the source of the outbreak remained unclear until this January.

Listeria is a form of bacteria that causes the gastrointestinal disease listeriosis.

Listeria is a food-borne bacterial illness typically found in raw vegetables and meats, as well as some soft cheeses.

In response, Dole shut down the Springfield facility. The disease is especially risky for pregnant women, since it can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, or infection of a newborn.

Adults over 65 or with weakened immune systems and pregnant women are most at risk. Ill people range in age from 3 years to 83, and the median age is 66.