Bagged Salad Sickness: 12 Ill, 1 Dead

One person is dead and 12 others sickened, including in New York -- and the cause has been traced back to listeria in packaged salads produced at a Dole factory in Ohio.

On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its warning about the salads, saying that the products in question were distributed in 23 states including New York. A dozen people in New York, Massachusetts, Michigan, Indiana, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania have been sickened. One person in Michigan died.

The product is sold under the names of Dole, Fresh Selections, Simple Truth, Marketside, The Little Salad Bar and President’s Choice.

Listeria can be life-threatening, and can cause muscle aches, fever and gastrointestinal symptoms. It also can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature labor, and serious illness or death in newborn babies.

Putnam and Rockland health officials say the best thing to do is to follow the guidelines the CDC issued for this outbreak.

A few people have called with concerns about the recall, said Jeanne Longo, Public Health Sanitarian in the Rockland County Health Department.

”The biggest concern with listeria is for pregnant women, senior citizens and people with weakened immune systems. If you are on that list and are feeling symptoms you should seek medical care,“ she said. “If you are not, or you ate one of the products, and you are feeling fine, then follow the CDC guidelines for cleaning up.”

Here are the CDC Guidelines:

What should you do if Dole brand packaged salads produced at the facility in Springfield, Ohio are in your home or establishment?

• Throw the packaged salad away in a closed plastic bag placed in a sealed trash can. This will prevent people and animals from eating it.
• Wash the refrigerator drawer and other areas where the packaged salads were stored with hot water and soap.
• Wash cutting boards, surfaces, and utensils used to serve or store packaged salads. If possible, use a dishwasher; otherwise, use hot water and soap, followed by sanitizing with a solution of one tablespoon chlorine bleach added to one gallon of hot water.
• Wash your hands with warm water and soap after cleaning up.

What should you do if you ate Dole brand packaged salad?

• If you have eaten a Dole brand packaged salad and do not have any symptoms, most experts believe that tests or treatment are not needed, even for persons at higher risk for listeriosis.
• People who develop symptoms of listeriosis after eating possibly contaminated products can consider seeking medical care and telling a healthcare provider about eating that product. Although people can sometimes develop listeriosis up to 2 months after eating contaminated food, symptoms usually start within several days.

“Since September 2015, CDC has been collaborating with public health officials in several states and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate a multistate outbreak of Listeriamonocytogenes infections (listeriosis),” said the CDC.

Dole stopped production of the salads at the Springfield, Ohio, plant, and while the CDC does not indicate a recall on the product, Dole told the Boston Herald that “its other facilities are not linked to the outbreak. The company said it is withdrawing the salads from sale in more than 20 states and three Canadian provinces.”

According to NJ.com, more than 200,000 customers bought those salads in ShopRite stores alone during the prior week, according to a spokeswoman. The supermarket chain sent “robo calls” to those customers warning them and offering a full refund.

The CDC says:

Consumers should not eat packaged salads produced at the Dole processing facility in Springfield, Ohio.

• • This advice is particularly important for consumers at higher risk for listeriosis, including pregnant women, adults 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems.
  • The packaged salads produced in this facility were sold under various brand names including:
    • Dole
    • Fresh Selections
    • Simple Truth
    • Marketside
    • The Little Salad Bar
    • President’s Choice Organics
• Consumers can identify these packaged salads by the letter “A” at the beginning of the manufacturing code found on the package.
• States that received packaged salads from this facility include:
  • 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
  • Wisconsin
• At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that packaged salads produced at other Dole processing facilities in the United States are linked to illness.

Restaurants should not serve, and retailers should not sell, packaged salads produced at the Dole processing facility in Springfield, Ohio.

• The packaged salads produced in this facility were sold under various brand names including:
  • Dole
  • Fresh Selections
  • Simple Truth
  • Marketside
  • The Little Salad Bar
  • President’s Choice Organics
• Restaurants and retailers can identify these packaged salads by the letter “A” at the beginning of the manufacturing code found on the package.

Who is most at risk for listeriosis?
People at higher risk for listeriosis include:

• Pregnant women and their newborns,
• Adults 65 and older, and
• People with weakened immune systems.