E. Coli Fears Spark Bagged Salad Recall
Pastor Dale Morgan
E. Coli Fears Spark Bagged Salad Recall *
Sep 19 07:30 PM US/Eastern
By LISA LEFF
Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A package of Dole salad mix that tested positive
for E. coli has triggered a recall in at least nine states, prompting
new produce fears almost exactly a year after a nationwide spinach scare.
The tainted bag of Dole's Hearts Delight salad mix was sold at a store
in Canada, officials said. Neither Canadian health officials nor Dole
Food Co. have received reports of anyone getting sick from the product.
The voluntary recall, issued Monday, affects all packages of Hearts
Delight sold in the United States and Canada with a "best if used by"
date of September 19, 2007, and a production code of "A24924A" or
"A24924B," the company said.
Last year, an E. coli outbreak traced to bagged baby spinach sold under
the Dole brand was blamed for the deaths of three people and for
sickening hundreds more across the U.S. Authorities eventually
identified a central California cattle ranch next to spinach fields
belonging to one of Dole's suppliers as being the source of the bacteria.
A recent Associated Press investigation found that government regulators
never acted on calls for stepped-up inspections of leafy greens after
that outbreak, and regulations governing farms in the fertile central
California region known as the nation's "Salad Bowl" remain much as they
were.
The latest recall affects packages sold in Ontario, Quebec and the
Maritime Provinces in Canada and in Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan,
Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee starting around
Sept. 8, said Marty Ordman, a Dole spokesman.
Eighty-eight cases—or 528 bags—were distributed in Canada, and 755 cases
containing 4,530 bags were distributed in the U.S., he said. FDA
spokesman Michael Herndon said the agency was talking with Westlake
Village, Calif.-based Dole about the situation.
The romaine, green leaf and butter lettuce hearts that went into the
blend were grown in California, Colorado and Ohio, then processed at
Dole's plant in Springfield, Ohio, on Sept. 6, according to Ordman.
An inspector from the Ohio agriculture department was at the plant
Monday and Tuesday, said agency spokeswoman Cindy Brown. Tests performed
on lettuce at the plant by Dole and the FDA came back negative for E.
coli, she said.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it would be looking to find out
at what point the salad blend became contaminated and to see if any
other products are affected, spokesman Garfield Balsom said. "We'll go
back and find the origins and determine where the product was produced
and packaged," Balsom said.
Dole contacted the FDA on Sunday night, as soon as the company got word
of the contaminated bag of salad in Canada, said Ordman. "They have been
to our plant and they will visit the growers," he said.
The salad mix subject to the recall may have been available in the U.S.
in states other than the nine already identified by Dole because in some
areas the product was distributed by a wholesaler with clients in
overlapping markets, Ordman said.
Food contaminated with this strain of E. coli may not look or smell
spoiled but health officials say the bacteria can cause life-
threatening illnesses.
Symptoms include severe abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea; some people
can have seizures or strokes and some may need blood transfusions and
kidney dialysis, while others may live with permanent kidney damage.
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Associated Press writers Rob Gillies in Toronto and Andrew Bridges in
Washington contributed to this report.
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On the Net:
Recall: http://tinyurl.com/2naakt