Possible Listeria Contamination Leads To Recall Of Fruit, Fruit Pies
There have been no recorded illnesses yet from batches of yellow peaches and nectarines, white peaches and nectarines, black plums, and pluots that may be contaminated with the nasty foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. The company has announced a recall, and Northeastern grocer Wegmans has also recalled pies made with affected fruit.
Recalls like this tend to branch out: expect to hear about more products made with the potentially contaminated fruit in the coming weeks.
Wawona Packing Company in California packs both organic and conventionally raised fruit, and affected fruits came through their facility between June 1 and July 12. The fruits were also sold by the case at warehouse stores BJ’s, Costco, and Sam’s Club. They were also sold in Trader Joe’s stores under the house brand. You can see the boxes that the fruits were distributed in at the FDA’s site.
What’s hard to sort out is exactly where these products were sold at retail. The FDA has released an impenetrable 16-page list of dates, lot numbers, and block IDs, which may be of use to retailers, but not to consumers. The company’s own press release features the stickers that would have been found on individual pieces of fruit in the affected lots, which may be more helpful when trying to determine whether your afternoon snack is potentially contaminated. You can find the stickers on pages 19 and 20 of this document.
Listeriosis isn’t a serious illness for most people, causing inconvenient but not life-threatening symptoms like gastrointestinal distress and headaches. For people with compromised immune systems, very young or very old people, and pregnant women, it can be a serious illness, leading to hospitalization, death, stillbirth, or miscarriages.
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