Listeria Risk Prompts NC Green Giant, Trader Joe’s Veggie Recall

NORTH CAROLINA — Green Giant products and other vegetables sold at Trader Joe's, Food Lion and other retailers have been recalled because they could be contaminated with listeria, according to the FDA. North Carolina is among the handful affected by the recall.

"The fresh vegetable products include packaged varieties of butternut squash, cauliflower, zucchini and a butternut squashed based veggie bowl," the FDA announcement says. The vegetables came from a Growers Express production facility in Maine.

No illnesses have been reported so far, according to the FDA. Most of the products affected by the recall have a "best if used by" date of June 26-29, 2019. A majority of the recalled products are sold under the Green Giant label. Other labels include Growers Express, Signature Farms and Trader Joe's. No frozen Green Giant products are affected by the recall.

The vegetables were sold at a number of retailers across different states. The states impacted by the recall are Massachusetts, Connecticut, South Carolina, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maine, New York, Maryland, Alabama, D.C. Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, Nashville (Knoxville and Nashville), Virginia, Vermont and Wisconsin.

In North Carolina, Green Giant Fresh Cauliflower Crumbles “Fried Rice Blend” sold at Food Lion along with Butternut Squash Spirals and Zucchini Spirals sold at Trader Joe’s are included in the recall.

Different products were sold at different retailers in the affected states. You can find a full list of the recalled vegetables in each state on the FDA's website.

Consumers who purchased the affected products should not consume the vegetables, the FDA cautioned.

"The safety of our consumers is our first priority," Tom Byrne, President of Growers Express, said in a statement. "We self-reported the need for this recall to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and stopped production immediately after being notified of a single positive sample by the Massachusetts Department of Health. We are deep sanitizing the entire facility and our line equipment, as well as conducting continued testing on top of our usual battery of sanitation and quality and safety tests before resuming production."

Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and in those with weakened immune systems, the FDA says. Pregnant women are also at high risk as listeria can cause miscarriages and stillbirths, the agency says.