The listeria outbreak is expanding with more listeria cases confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The listeria outbreak is expanding with more listeria cases confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The listeria outbreak now linked to Dole bagged salads started last year. 15 people have been hospitalized and one person died due to listeria contamination.
The CDC announced that since Friday last week, three new cases have been confirmed. One case was reported in New York. The most recent two cases are reported in Missouri and Connecticut. Overall, the listeria outbreak has sickened people in Indiana, Michigan and Massachusetts, as well as Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Reports of listeria infections came in already in July 2015. The official investigation started in September. However, officials couldn’t pinpoint the source of the listeria outbreak until this month. According to the CDC, the laboratory tests yielded results indicating that Dole bagged salads, packed in the company Ohio facility.
As such, it is recommended we steer away from bagged salads sold under the following names: Fresh Selections, Marketside, Dole, Simple Truth, President’s Choice and the Little Salad Bar. If you happened to have purchased any of these bagged salads, look for the letter A inscribed before the manufacturing code. These are the packages that should be thrown away.
The listeria outbreak is expanding with more listeria cases confirmed. Nonetheless, as a result of the federal investigation, Dole announced that the Ohio facility will suffer temporary closure. The CDC is warning consumers to not eat the Dole products. In addition, restaurants should thoroughly check their stock and not serve potentially infected salads. Retailers are also warned to not sell bagged salads produced at Dole’s Ohio facility. The FDA issued a recall to prevent the listeria outbreak from spreading any further.
The listeria outbreak should not prevent you from eating healthy veggies and leafy greens. They are brimming with vitamins and mineral which are essential for good health. While they have been linked to a number of foodborne illnesses, these are relatively rare and shouldn’t shadow the host of benefits.
According to a study which was published last year in the Foodborne Pathogens and Disease journal, it is the shift in food production which brought about an increase of food-related outbreaks. In the 1970s there were approximately 3 outbreaks comprising more than one state per year. Between 2000 and 2010, there were 14 multi-state outbreaks on average per year. In the U.S. this translates to approximately 48 million people being victims of foodborne pathogens. 3,000 people die annually due to foodborne pathogens.
Moreover, since the 1970s, leafy vegetables have been linked to more outbreaks than any other food types.
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