Listeria outbreak claims life; Dole suspends Springfield operations
Listeria outbreak claims life; Dole suspends Springfield operations
An outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes linked to packaged salads produced at Dole's Springfield, OH, processing facility has resulted in one death and 11 other illnesses. All ill people, including a pregnant woman, reported being hospitalized. As a result Dole has temporarily suspended operations at its Springfield production facility and is withdrawing potentially contaminated product.
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention said epidemiologic and laboratory evidence indicated that packaged salads produced at the Dole processing facility in Springfield are the likely source of this outbreak:
Affected salads can be identified by the letter "A" at the beginning of the manufacturing code found on the package.
- Some of the 12 people reported eating packed salad before falling ill, including two who reported various varieties of Dole brand packaged salad.
- As part of a routine product-sampling program, the Ohio Department of Agriculture collected a Dole-brand Field Greens packaged salad from a retail location and isolated Listeria. This packaged salad was produced at the Springfield Dole processing facility.
- Whole genome sequencing showed that the Listeria isolate from the packaged salad was highly related genetically to isolates from ill people.
These packaged salads were sold under various brand names, including Dole, Fresh Selections, Simple Truth, Marketside, The Little Salad Bar and President's Choice Organics.
The packaged salads can be identified by the letter "A" at the beginning of the manufacturing code found on the package. Other Dole products, including fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and packaged salads from Dole’s other processing facilities (with product codes beginning with the letters “B” or “N”), are not part of this voluntary withdrawal.
Retailers and consumers who have any remaining product with an “A” code should not consume it, and are urged to discard it.
States included in the withdrawal are Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin. In Canada the affected products have been sold in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador.
