On Jan. 6, Bidart Bros., headquartered in Bakersfield, CA, issued a recall of all its Granny Smith and Gala apples shipped from the company's packing facility in Shafter, CA, during 2014.

This action follows a voluntary recall by the company's customers that produce caramel apples. Following this recall, officials from the Food & Drug Administration and the California Department of Public Health inspected the facility, noting the the presence of Listeria on surfaces that might come in contact with apples.

On Jan. 7, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued its own updated information about the recall warning the agency had initially released on Dec. 24 concerning tainted caramel apples.

Two of the branded recalled caramel apples were “ Big B” and “Granny's Best.” Tainted caramel apples may also have been sold under other branded and unbranded labels. Voluntary recalls for branded candied apples have been issued by Kroger, Merb's Candies, California Snack Foods and Happy Apple.

The Food & Drug Administration is continuing its investigation to determine whether an outbreak of Listeria found in caramel apples can be linked to 32 cases of reported illnesses that occurred beginning in mid-October. The states in which contaminated caramel apples were distributed are Arizona, California, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

A total of six death have been reported, and federal officials are working to determine whether a link to the tainted product resulted in those deaths.

The FDA is cautioning consumers who may have purchased Gala and Granny Smith apples to check with retailers to see if apples were sourced from Bidart Bros.

As part of the ongoing investigation, FDA is also investigating whether caramel apple producers may have used the same sources for packaging, caramel and ingredients or sticks.

On Jan. 6, Leonard Bidart, president of Bidart Bros., issued a written statement: “As a family-owned grower operating in California since the 1930s, Bidart Bros. places safety at the forefront of everything we do. Our hearts go out to all who have been impacted by the apple-related listeriosis outbreak.

“Bidart Bros. takes product safety very seriously, which is why the company has extensive, time-tested best practices within its facilities to address contamination-related issues.”

Bidart went on to say the apple packingline in question was shut down in late October and the last shipments of Granny Smith apples that moved through this line were shipped out Dec. 2.

Customer questions concerning the recall can be directed to Jack Burns, apple packing manager for Bidart Bros., at 661/399-0978.