NORPAC Foods, Inc. Recalls Two Frozen Private Label Items
Salem, Oregon’s NORPAC Foods, Inc. is recalling multiple frozen private label vegetable items marketed under the brand name “Natural Directions Organic.”
The two items currently subject to the recall are (i) Natural Directions Organic Green Peas and (ii) Natural Directions Organic Mixed Vegetables.
“This voluntary action is being undertaken because the recalled products contain vegetables that were purchased from CRF Frozen Foods and are part of the recent CRF Frozen Foods recall,” the company stated in its recall announcement.
“Natural Directions” Brand Linked to CRF Frozen Foods
Last week, CRF Frozen Foods, a producer and distributor of frozen vegetables, expanded its initial April recall of eleven varieties of frozen vegetables by including a stunning 347 additional products. CRF initiated its first recall due to concerns that its vegetable products might be contaminated with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, often referred to simply as “Listeria.”
The expanded recall, announced May 2nd, includes all traditional and organic frozen fruits and vegetable products processed in the company’s Pasco, Washington facility – approximately 358 consumer products sold under 42 separate brands, some of them private – since May 1, 2014.
To put it another way, any of the 358 products that left the large processing facility at any time during the past two years are subject to the larger CRF recall.
US Public Health Agencies Bolster Recall Rationale
NORPAC’s concerns are well-founded: the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced an ongoing outbreak of listeriosis, the disease caused by Listeria bacteria, last week. The CDC, working in conjunction with public health officials from several states in addition to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are actively investigating the outbreak, which has infected eight people across three states.
Recalled items were distributed and sold in both the United States and Canada, further complicating the situation, which the CDC characterizes as a “complex, ongoing investigation,” promising to provide updates “when more information is available.”
Public health officials have not ruled out additional sources of the outbreak, however, stating that
[e]pidemiologic and laboratory evidence available at this time indicates that frozen vegetables produced by CRD Frozen Foods of Pasco, Washington and sold under various brand names are one likely source of illness in this outbreak.”
The Details: Recalled NORPAC “Natural Directions Organic” Products
The two NORPAC products affected by the recall are (i) Natural Directions Organic Green Peas and (ii) Natural Directions Organic Mixed Vegetables.
The 
distribution of Natural Directions Organic products affected by the NORPAC recall was geographically limited, decreasing the chance of illness by likely increasing the effectiveness of the recall. The company has contacted all retailers who received the recalled products, which may have been purchased in Guam, Washington, Alaska, Oregon, California, Nevada, Hawaii, Idaho and Montana.
If you have purchased Natural Directions Organic Green Peas and/or Natural Directions Organic Mixed Vegetables, please make sure that they are not part of the following affected lots:
- Natural Directions Organic Mixed Vegetables, 12 oz., UPC # 0-15400-19672-7:
- USE BY 06 2017 / MFG 06 16 2015, CODE 5J5 16X8 HH:MM;
- USE BY 02 2018 / MFG 02 16 2016, CODE 5F6 16X8 HH:MM; and
- USE BY 04 2018 / MFG 04 19 2016, CODE 5H6 19X8 HH:MM.
- Natural Directions Organic Green Peas, 12 oz., UPC # 0-15400-19670-3:
- USE BY 03 2018 / MFG 03 21 2016, CODE 5G6 21X8 HH:MM;
- USE BY 04 2018 / MFG 04 11 2016, CODE 5H6 11X8 HH:MM; and
- USE BY 04 2018 / MFG 04 12 2016, CODE 5H6 12X8 HH:MM.
