Dole voluntarily withdraws packaged salads amid 6-state listeria outbreak

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Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. has voluntarily withdrawn packaged salads processed at its Springfield, Ohio, facility linked to a six-state listeria outbreak that has killed one and sickened 12, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Friday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday that the company had stopped its production at the facility, which investigators believe is the only location the affected products were processed. According to the FDA, no other Dole production facilities or products are affected.

Salads can be identified by the letter "A" at the beginning of the manufacturing code found on the package. (Courtesy CDC)

Affected products begin with the letter “A” in the upper right-hand corner of the package, and they were sold in the following states and Canadian provinces:

States included in the withdrawal:

· 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

List of Canadian provinces included in the withdrawal:

· Ontario

· New Brunswick

· Quebec

Listeriosis— the infection that results from exposure to the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes—  can lead to passive symptoms like diarrhea and nausea, fever and muscle aches. But it can be life-threatening for infants, the elderly, or individuals with weakened immune systems such as pregnant women, according to the CDC.

The six states that have reported deaths or illnesses are Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Dole has asked retailers that carry its products to check their stores and warehouses to ensure products affected by the recall aren’t sold to their customers. According to the FDA, Dole is working on confirming that the withdrawn packaged salads have been removed from the supply chain.

Reuters contributed to this report.