Nationwide Listeria Outbreak Leads to Vegetable Recalls, Consumer Panic-Mostly Truth!
Summary of eRumor:
Warnings about a nationwide listeria outbreak that prompted voluntary product recalls from Trader Joe’s, Aldi, Albertson’s, Safeway, Pack’N Save, Von’s, Target and H-E-B stoked panic among consumers.
The Truth:
Mann Packing issued a voluntary recall on October 19, 2017 — but the recall was prompted by a single random test for contamination and not a “nationwide listeria outbreak.”
Both Mann Packing and the FDA said in statements that the recall had been issued “out of an abundance of caution” after a single random test conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency revealed Listeria monocytogenes contamination in one of Mann’s vegetable products. No cases of reported illness had been linked to the recall by October 27th.
In the days following the Mann Packing’s October 19th recall, nine retailers and three separate produce companies linked to Mann issued recalls of their own. The FDA has established a website to track the listeria recalls, which mainly includes fresh soups, bagged salads, stir-fry kits and veggie trays. Consumers are encouraged to double check these recall lists frequently.
Lysteria monocytogenes can lead to Listeriosis, an infection sickens abot 1,600 people a year and claims about 260 lives, the CDC reports. Cases are most often reported in pregnant women, newborns and older adults.