Update: The CDC has added seven more states to the list of states that received contaminated salads: Indiana, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina.
Packaged salads contaminated with the listeria virus have killed one and left 11 hospitalized, CNN reports.
The CDC says that their evidence indicates that the outbreak’s source is a Dole processing facility in Springfield, Ohio. The salads are packaged and sold under various brand names, but they all seem to have originated from the same plant.
Those affected live in Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. The person who died of listeriosis resided in Michigan. Though infection reports began in July of last year, only now have laboratory results pointed the finger firmly at the Springfield facility.
The CDC says that consumers should stay away from salads branded as Dole, Fresh Selections, Simple Truth, Marketside, The Little Salad Bar, and President's Choice. Packaged salads with an "A" leading the manufacturing code should be tossed out. That goes doubly for restaurants, as they too have received shipments from the facility.
Dole has ceased production at the contaminated facility and recalled all of their salads sent from there. No other facilities have been detected as having an outbreak.
Last Friday, the FDA announced a recall in the following states: Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Canadian residents living in Ontario, New Brunswick, or Quebec are also advised to toss their salad.
Listerosis, the disease caused by the Listeria monocytogenes bacterium, typically causes muscle aches and gastrointestinal distress such as diarrhea. Those primarily affected are the sick, elderly, young, or those with compromised immune systems, but the disease can get anyone exposed to it.
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