Dole recalls pre-packaged salads
A number of people around the country have been sickened by the Listeria virus after eating Dole pre-packaged 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 isolates from the patients. The source of these illnesses was not known until January 2016, according to the FDA, when the lab result from Ohio was completed.”
Listeria is an infection caused by eating a product that contains the Listeria monocytogenes, bacteria. This usually affects older adults, pregnant women, newborns, and people with weakened immune systems. There are a number of different symptoms that are not just limited to the abdominal region. For example some people have experienced headaches, stiff necks, loss of balance, confusion, fever, headaches, and convulsions. Symptoms can start as soon as a few weeks, or can even start 70 days later; it all depends on the individual.
At least four people in New York City have been sickened by this outbreak. A website dedicated to spreading information on food recalls because of food poisoning has stated, “The salads were sold in these states, according to the CDC: Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The brand names the salads were sold under include Dole, Fresh Selections, Simple Truth, Marketside, The Little Salad Bar, and President’s Choice Organics. The recalled packages are identified by the letter “A” at the start of the manufacturing code on the packages.”
If you have eaten a product that has been highlighted, contact your physician as soon as possible and also contact the store in which you brought the product from. You can also see more information about the outbreak at the CDC website.
Sources:
https://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2016/four-people-in-new-york-sickened-in-dole-listeria-outbreak/
http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/bagged-salads-01-16/index.html
