UPDATE: The Public Health Agency of Canada reported that the same listeria strain has infected seven people in five Canadian provinces.
Dive Brief:
- Dole has issued a voluntary market recall following an ongoing investigation by the CDC of a listeriosis outbreak that the agency believes may have been caused by Dole packaged salads produced at its Springfield, OH, facility. The connection has been established based on "epidemiologic and laboratory evidence available to date," the CDC said Jan. 22. There have been 12 hospitalizations and one death associated with this outbreak.
- Dole performed the withdrawal of the packaged salads from 23 states and three Canadian provinces immediately following the CDC announcement.
- CDC made its announcement on the day after the Public Health Agency of Canada made its announcement concerning a listeria outbreak in five provinces, which the agency believes could be associated with the U.S. outbreak, though confirmation from lab results is pending.
Dive Insight:
Per the federal definition of a "market withdrawal," the incident must be a "minor violation that would not be subject to legal action by the FDA or which involves no violation."
This scenario is similar to the one Blue Bell found itself in about a year ago. In mid-February, Blue Bell began a quiet withdrawal of ice cream products from various retailers and institutions when listeria contamination was suspected even before any illnesses or deaths had been reported. It didn't take long for an outbreak to develop, and by March, Blue Bell ordered a full product recall and temporarily shut down all of its creameries. Experts questioned Blue Bell as to why the company didn't notify the public sooner.
Blue Bell has since re-introduced products to markets across the U.S. in phases, but the company is now being investigated by the Dept. of Justice, which said last year that it would be cracking down with harsher punishments for food safety violations by manufacturers.