On December 24, 2014, Happy Apple Company issued a recall of all of its Happy Apple Brand caramel apples with best by dates ranging from August 25th to November 23rd. At that time, Happy Apple stated it had received notice from one its apple suppliers, Bidart Brothers, that its apples (believed to be Granny Smith apples) had been linked to a national outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes, an outbreak that has been linked to 30 confirmed cases and as many as six fatalities. Now Happy Apples is expanding the recall to include all of the Kroger Brand caramel apples, which are produced by Happy Apple, with best by dates ranging from September 15th to November 18th. These Kroger brand caramel apples come in single and three-packs, and were sold in Arizona, Alaska, Kansas, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
According to Happy Apple, it is cooperating with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate the origins of the Listeria bacteria that has been linked to caramel apples. Happy Apple now contends that none of its implicated caramel apples are on the market, since production was seasonally halted in late October and use-by dates have been passed. But Happy Apple is issuing the recall in the event that some consumers may have the product in their homes.
According to Listeria lawyer Ron Simon, “it is common for producers to expand a recall when new information is obtained.” He notes that many recalls begin with one brand, but expand once investigators find that other brands were made with the same ingredients or in the same facility, and there is a possibility that they may have become infected through cross contamination. It remains unclear if the Bidart Brothers apples were used for production of Kroger caramel apples directly or if this is a case where production of both products were conducted in close proximity, leading to the potential for cross contamination. “In either scenario,” Simon explains, “the possibility of Listeria contamination is a real danger.”
Listeria is very dangerous, leading to the hospitalization of more than 85% of its victims (and in this outbreak, at least 28 of the victims were hospitalized). It is especially dangerous to kids, the elderly, and to people with auto immune disorders. It is also a unique threat to pregnant women due to the fact it can cause miscarriages and still births. For more information or to find out what legal rights you may have, call the Listeria lawyers at Ron Simon & Associates at 1-888-335-4901.
