Listeria Discovery Prompts Lettuce Recall
A Salinas farm issued a voluntary lettuce recall Monday amid concerns of a listeria contamination on September 29 that could affect as many as 19 states and Canada.
The leafy infection was discovered at the True Leaf Farms of Salinas, where the company initially announced a recall of 90 cartons of romaine lettuce en route to Oregon, Idaho and Washington. The recall was issued after a random check conducted by federal officials discovered a sample of listeria-infected leaves.
The recall was expanded to 2,500 cartons on Saturday after the chief executive of Church Brothers Steve Church clarified those initial 90 cartons reached retail sales. He said the rest of the farm’s lettuce went to institutions and restaurants already notified of the risk.
In total, Church’s company, which sells and markets all of True Leaf's produce, reported 33,000 pounds of contaminated leaves after federal officials found one sample bag of romaine that tested positive for listeria.
The recall covers romaine lettuce with an expiration date of September 29. The CEO reassured consumers, as of the recall, freshly picked lettuce from the Salinas farms are now safe to eat.
No illnesses have been reported despite worries from other listeria-contaminated produce within the United States, Food and Drug Administration spokesperson Stephanie Yao said.
States affected by the romaine recall include: Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Vermont.
FDA officials, who conducted the research on the farm to better understand the incidence of the bacteria, have not yet identified the source of this specific listeria outbreak.
Listeria has been a frequent cause of U.S. food recalls: however, concerns over contaminated cantaloupe in Colorado have exacerbated the issue after the outbreak killed 15 people and infected 72 others.
Yao said there was no link between the romaine recall and the listeria-infected cantaloupe in Colorado.
Salinas, better known as the “salad bowl of the world” is just one of the many locations being tossed by another listeria recall.
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