Dole Fresh Vegetables is recalling certain salad kits over concerns that they may be contaminated with potentially harmful bacteria.
The California-based company is removing limited quantities of its Dole brand and private label salad kits from the market because they were processed on the same line as the recalled cheese from manufacturer Rizzo-Lopez Foods, according to a recall notice. . Posted by Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Dole said its salad kits sold under its brand name and the President’s Choice and Marketside brands were contaminated with cheese that may have been contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes from packaged cheese suppliers. “Due to possible cross-contamination of cheese contained in master packs.”
“Consumers who have any of these products in their refrigerators or freezers are urged not to consume them and to discard them immediately,” Dole said.
The company said it was not aware of any specific illnesses specifically linked to its products.
More than 20 cases of listeria infections linked to Rizzo Lopez Foods’ Queso Fresco and Cotija cheeses have occurred in multiple states, leading to more than 100 product recalls in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, the FDA reported that samples taken during an on-site inspection at Rizzo-Lopez Foods tested positive for the same strain of Listeria monocytogenes causing illness in this outbreak.
The FDA’s latest information comes shortly after a sample of Rizzo Brothers Aged Cotija tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes during sampling conducted by the Hawaii State Department of Health Food and Drug Administration in January.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is also investigating the outbreak, said infections with this particular strain have been reported since 2014.
The agency investigated the outbreak situation in 2017 and 2021.
Previous investigations had led authorities to identify queso fresco and other similar cheeses as a possible source, but until now there wasn’t enough information to link it to a specific brand.
As of February 6, 20 people have been infected in 11 states between June 15, 2014 and December 10, 2023.
Health officials warned that the number of illnesses is “likely to be higher than reported” given that some people recover without seeking medical care.
Of those with available information, 23 people are hospitalized, according to the CDC.
Two people died, one in California and one in Texas.
To date, approximately 113 products are on the FDA’s continually updated recall list related to the outbreak.
