Canada
Argentina 
Australia 
Austria 
Brazil 
Germany 
Ireland 
Italy 
Malaysia 
Mexico 
New Zealand 
Poland 
South Africa 
United Kingdom 
United States Some Fresh Express Salads Recalled Over Listeria Concerns
- Biography
- @TalalNAnsari
- talal.ansari@wsj.com
Fresh Express is recalling some prepackaged salads that the company and federal officials said could be contaminated with harmful bacteria.
The Food and Drug Administration said this week that a Fresh Express salad sample produced at a facility in Streamwood, Ill., had tested positive for a strain of listeria monocytogenes linked to a multistate outbreak.
The outbreak has been associated with 10 illnesses, 10 hospitalizations and one death in eight states over several years, the FDA said.
“To date, a positive sample of Fresh Express Sweet Hearts salad mix has been reported to match the outbreak strain,” said Frank Yiannas, FDA deputy commissioner for food policy and response. The sample of romaine and sweet butter lettuce with a use-by-date of Dec. 8 was collected by Michigan officials as part of routine sampling.
Fresh Express has advised customers to not eat, sell or serve its fresh salad products with the codes Z324 to Z350 printed on the package, including various lettuces, salad mixes and some salad kits. The recalled items were distributed to retailers in the Northeast and Midwest as well as in Canada, including the provinces of Ontario and Manitoba. A full list can be found on the FDA’s website.
The company has stopped all production at its Streamwood facility, begun a sanitation review and told retailers to remove the recalled products from shelves and stop further shipments to stores.
The listeria outbreak has been found in Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, dating from July 26, 2016, to Oct. 19, 2021, according to the FDA. The agency is working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local partners on investigating the outbreak.
Listeria is a potentially deadly bacteria. Generally, it doesn’t cause illnesses in healthy people, but it can threaten older adults, pregnant women and newborns as well as people with weakened immune systems.
“The FDA recommends that anyone who received recalled products use extra vigilance in cleaning and sanitizing any surfaces and containers that may have come in contact with these products to reduce the risk of cross-contamination,” the agency said. It added that listeria can survive in refrigerated temperatures and can easily spread to other foods and surfaces.
Write to Talal Ansari at talal.ansari@wsj.com
Copyright ©2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
