Harris Teeter, Trader Joe's Recall Foods Over Deadly Listeria Risk

A new food recall has been issued by a Maryland grocery store chain concerned about listeria, while last week’s national frozen vegetable and fruit recall by CRF Frozen Food has expanded again.

Harris Teeter grocery stores on Friday said a supplier indicated Creative Snack Brain Food – with UPC 85598300207 -- may be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes, an organism which could result in severe illness, or death, to people who consume this product.

The products were sold in several states, including Maryland.

Listeriosis, an infection caused by Listeria, can pose major risks for certain populations, especially pregnant women, older adults, and individuals with weakened immune systems.

Harris Teeter has removed the recalled product from its produce department and says customers who purchased the product should not consume the snack. Instead, return it to your Harris Teeter for a full refund.

Customers with questions should call Creative Snacks Company at 336-668-4151.

And the grocer says that two groups of vegetables it previously stocked, but doesn’t currently, have been recalled over listeria.

Harris Teeter stocks Harris Teeter Frozen Organic Corn and Harris Teeter Frozen Mixed Vegetables. However, the UPC’s that were recalled Friday -- UPC 7203676395 for the corn and UPC 7203676393 for the mixed vegetables – are not currently in stories.

The items in the recall were on shelves between October 19, 2015 and December 24, 2015 and should not be consumed. Instead, return the products to Harris Teeter for a full refund.

»SEE ALSO: Eight Illnesses Nationwide from Listeria Tied to Veggie Recall

The national recall of frozen vegetables and fruit from stores in Maryland and elsewhere because of listeria contamination risk has expanded again to include the Pictsweet label and more lines of foods at Trader Joe’s.

Packages of Trader Joe's chicken and vegetable fried rice, Tai Pei fried rice products, Ajinomoto chicken fried rices and more were added to the recall, the FDA said Saturday.

Products covered by this voluntary recall were distributed in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, the FDA says. No illnesses to date have been reported to Ajinomoto Windsor, Inc. for the products involved in this voluntary recall.

A week ago, the company alerted customers that Trader Joe’s Super Sweet Cut Corn (SKU/Barcode 00299633) may have been contaminated. Consumers should check the retailer's list of affected lot codes online to see if they have the corn in their freezers.

CRF Frozen Foods of Pasco, WA, has expanded its voluntary recall of 15 frozen food items to include all “frozen organic and traditional fruits and vegetables” labeled under dozens of brand names. The recalled lines include Walmart's store brand, a Trader Joe's label, Kirkland label sold in Costco stores, Safeway Kitchens labels, and Wild Oats lines, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

All lots of cut green beans and green peas supplied to Pictsweet by CRF have been recalled, the FDA says, and the products were distributed national through retail stores. Products being recalled include “best if used by” dates in a table you can find on the FDA website, and the letter “K” as the 5th digit of the manufacturing code. This information is printed on the back panel of each package.

No other Pictsweet products are impacted by this recall.

See the full list here for the growing CRF recall.

The Centers for Disease Control says all eight people have been hospitalized as a result of listeriosis from the tainted foods, including a patient from Maryland and another from Washington State who died. In both deaths, listeriosis was not considered to be a cause of death, the CDC says.

The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene says listeria bacteria is found in dust, soil, water, and sewage. Listeria can contaminate frozen food and survive over an extended period of time with long shelf lives of up to a few years, experts said in a news release, so it's important that consumers do not eat products in the recall.

The recalled food items that may be tainted have been sold in all 50 states and Canada.

For a complete listing of all recalled products, visit the FDA online.

Signs of Illness from Listeria

A listeria infection primarily affects pregnant women and their newborns, older adults, and persons with immune systems weakened by cancer, cancer treatments, or other serious conditions (like diabetes, kidney failure, liver disease, and HIV/AIDS), say Maryland health officials.

Someone with listeriosis generally has fever and muscle aches and can have a bloodstream infection or meningitis. Although people can sometimes develop listeriosis up to two months after eating contaminated food, symptoms usually start within several days, often with diarrhea. Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics. Anyone suspecting listeriosis should contact their health-care provider.

Symptoms include:

Higher-risk persons: Symptoms can include fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions.

Pregnant women: Pregnant women typically experience only fever and other non-specific symptoms. However, infection during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, or life-threatening infection of the newborn.

Healthy persons: Healthy persons rarely develop invasive listeriosis but can experience a milder illness with fever and diarrhea.

Recall Details, Numbers to Call

“We are performing this voluntary recall in cooperation with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) because these products have the potential to be contaminated withListeria monocytogenes,” the company said in a media release issued through the FDA.

Listeria contamination can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections. It is most especially dangerous to the young, frail and elderly, according to the CDC. It also poses a concern for those with weakened immune systems and women who are pregnant. Symptoms of infection include high fever, headaches, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women are also possible.

CRF’s initial voluntary recall was announced about two weeks ago after concerns about possible Listeria contamination arose.

The recall now includes all products “manufactured or processed in CRF Frozen Foods’ Pasco facility since May 1, 2014,” the news release says. All affected products have best by or sell by dates between April 26, 2016, and April 26, 2018. The recall includes some 358 consumer products sold under 42 separate brand names.

The fruits and vegetables now part of the recall include: broccoli, butternut squash, corn, Italian beans, kale, lima beans, sweet potatoes, blueberries, cherries and more.

The Listeria was discovered through routine testing by state health officials in Ohio, the FDA said in a release.

Anyone who purchased products included in the recall may return them to the store where they were purchased for a refund. Consumers with questions can call CRF's consumer hotline at 844-551-5595, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

CRF suspended operations at its Pasco facility on April 25. A thorough review will be conducted before operations resume.

Consumers seeking information may call 844-551-5595 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, the FDA says.

»Photos courtesy of the Food and Drug Administration