Conroe, Texas company Country Fresh, LLC. is recalling 30,000 cases of fresh-cut vegetable products due to potential Listeria contamination. The products were shipped to stores such as Walmart and Winn Dixie, and the majority of recalled products were shipped under store brand names.
The potential for contamination was uncovered as the result of a single routine sample taken at a retail store by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, which revealed the finished product tested positive for the bacteria.
The company shipped cases of the recalled products to retailers located in Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina. The products were shipped under the “Country Fresh” brand name as well as various store-brand labels.
The cases were shipped to certain Harris Teeter, Publix, Fresh Point, BI-LO, QuikTrip and The Spinx Company locations, in addition to being shipped to Walmart and Winn Dixie locations as described above.
The products recalled bear “BEST IF USED BY” dates between August 7, 2016 (8/7/16) through August 19, 2016 (8/19/16). Recalled products are packaged in either clear plastic containers or in Styrofoam trays overwrapped with clear plastic film. No products except those on this list, published by the FDA, are subject to the recall.
According to the FDA recall notice, Listeria is “an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.”
To date, no illnesses have been confirmed by public health authorities.
“We are treating this incident very seriously because we want to ensure that our customers are provided with only the safest, most wholesome, and high-quality products available,” said Max Payen, Country Fresh’s Director of Food Safety.
The company has ceased distribution of all cases of the affected product as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Country Fresh continue their investigation as to what caused the problem. This recall is being undertaken with the knowledge of the FDA.
