Grocery chains including Walmart, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's are recalling vegetables in a food safety scare

pulse

October 23, 2017 7:21 PM

Grocery chains including Walmart, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's have issued a recall on certain vegetable products that may be contaminated with listeria.

A vegetable supplier for major grocery chains issued a recall on certain products after a random test showed listeria contamination.
Grocery chains including Whole Foods, Walmart, and Trader Joe's have also issued recalls.
Listeria symptoms include "high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea."

Grocery chains including Walmart, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's have issued a recall on certain vegetable products from packaged vegetable supplier Mann Packing.

A random sampling by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency found a single positive result for listeria, leading Mann Packing to issue a recall "out of an abundance of caution" last week.

The recall has led to several follow-up recalls at major grocers across the US.

Walmart is recalling certain bagged veggies, including broccoli and cauliflower. Trader Joe's is recalling its Kohlrabi Salad Blend. And, Whole Foods Market is recalling certain salads from 10 stores in California.

Regional grocers have also been impacted. Meijer is recalling a long list of packed produce items. Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, and Pak N' Save are voluntarily recalling certain fresh vegetable trays and cups in eight states. H-E-B recalled certain single-serve soups made with the vegetables.

Listeria is a bacteria that can be extremely dangerous if it infects people with weakened immune systems, such as the elderly and children. According to the FDA, symptoms include "high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea."

At this point, there are no reported illnesses associated with any Mann Packing products.

Pre-cut packaged vegetables are one of the food products most susceptible to food poisoning contamination. Attorney Bill Marler, who specializes in foodborne illness cases, says that he avoids pre-cut and pre-washed fruits and vegetables "like the plague."

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