Cincinnati, OHIn spite of some back-pedaling by a spokesperson who suggested the potential for contaminated food is small—"that's about 30,000 bags out of 720 million bags we produce in a year," the risk for Listeria contamination is enough for Chiquita Brands International subsidiary Fresh Express to voluntarily recall 2,825 cases of salad products.
According to a report last night from CNN, the cases of Veggie Lovers Salad with a Product Code of I208 and Use-by date of August 10, 2010 are being recalled out of an abundance of caution," the company said in a statement. The recall is being triggered in spite of the fact no cases of illness have been reported.
Each case holds 12 bags, so approximately 34,000 bags are being recalled.
Fresh Express spokesperson Ed Lloyd told CNN that Fresh Express was notified about the possible contamination the morning of August 10th and issued a release by day's end. He indicated that since it's past the products' expiration date, these bags of lettuce should no longer be available for sale. However, consumers could still have some of this lettuce in their refrigerators, and if they do, they should throw it out.
This is the third recall Fresh Express has had to endure in almost as many months. In July, Fresh Express had to recall some romaine lettuce due to possible E. coli contamination and in May, the company recalled certain packages of salad due to possible salmonella contamination.
The lettuce may be found in as many as 26 states. According to the company statement, these bags of lettuce were shipped to 13 states (MO, MI, OH, IL, WI, IN, MD, MA, NY, KS, KY, PA, NJ) and possibly redistributed to 14 states (AR, TN, WV, IA, MN, VA, VT, NH, NE, RI, PA, CT, MS, ME).
Listeria is a serious contamination that can prove fatal.