Update on Listeria Outbreak Associated with Salad

CDC provided an update on the number of listeriosis cases linked to Dole's packaged salads.  There are now 15 cases and 1 death.  Dole has shut down its Ohio processing facility and does not plan to restart until at least February.   With regard to impacted product, Dole initially called its action a voluntary withdrawal.  It changed that status to a voluntary recall on January 27th.

We will follow this case closely, because like other recent Listeria outbreaks associated with produce, this will probably have some far reaching regulatory implications.

 

CDC Outbreak News

http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/bagged-salads-01-16/index.html

Multistate Outbreak of Listeriosis Linked to Packaged Salads Produced at Springfield, Ohio Dole Processing Facility

Posted January 28, 2016 2:00 PM ET

  

At a Glance:

• Case Count: 15(http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/bagged-salads-01-16/epi.html)
• States: 8(http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/bagged-salads-01-16/map.html)
• Deaths: 1
• Hospitalizations: 15
• Recall: Yes

What's New?

• On January 27, Dole voluntarily recalled all salad mixes produced in the Springfield, Ohio processing facility.
• A list of the recalled brands and types of salad mixes, states where they were sold, and instructions on how to identify them are available on the Advice to Consumers page(http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/bagged-salads-01-16/advice-consumers.html).
• Three more ill people have been reported from Connecticut, Missouri, and New York. The most recent illness was diagnosed on January 3, 2016.
• According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, there are seven people in five Canadian provinces infected with the same outbreak strain of Listeria. Laboratory tests performed on clinical isolates from ill people in Canada showed that the isolates are highly related genetically to Listeria isolates from ill people in the United States.

Highlights

• Read the Recall & Advice to Consumers, Restaurants, and Retailers>>(http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/bagged-salads-01-16/advice-consumers.html)
• Since September 2015, CDC has been collaborating with public health officials in several states, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Public Health Agency of Canada to investigate a multistate outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections (listeriosis).
• Listeria can cause a serious, life-threatening illness.
• Fifteen people infected with the outbreak strain of Listeria have been reported from eight states since July 5, 2015, an increase of three cases since the last update on January 22.
• All 15 people were hospitalized, including one person from Michigan who died as a result of listeriosis. One illness was reported in a pregnant woman.
• Laboratory tests performed on clinical isolates from all 15 ill people showed that the isolates are highly related genetically.
• According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, there are seven people in five Canadian provinces infected with the same outbreak strain of Listeria.
• Laboratory tests performed on clinical isolates from ill people in Canada showed that the isolates are highly related genetically to Listeria isolates from ill people in the United States.
• Epidemiologic and laboratory evidence indicate that packaged salads produced at the Dole processing facility in Springfield, Ohio and sold under various brand names are the likely source of this outbreak.
• Although the investigation began in September 2015, the source of these illnesses wasn't known until January 2016 when a laboratory result from a packaged salad collected in Ohio linked the illnesses to the Dole processing facility in Springfield, Ohio.
• On January 21, 2016, Dole reported to CDC that it had stopped all production at the processing facility in Springfield, Ohio, and was withdrawing all packaged salads currently on the market that were produced at this facility.
• The Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed the presence of Listeria in packaged salads produced at Springfield, Ohio, Dole processing facility.
• On January 27, 2016, Dole voluntarily recalled all salad mixes produced in the Springfield, Ohio processing facility.
• Consumers should not eat, restaurants should not serve, and retailers should not sell recalled packaged salad mixes. The recalled salad mixes were sold under various brand names and produced at the Dole processing facility in Springfield, Ohio.
• A list of the recalled brands and types of salad mixes, states where they were sold, and instructions on how to identify them are available on the Advice to Consumers page(http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/bagged-salads-01-16/advice-consumers.html).
• Updates will be provided when more information is available.

The Packer
http://www.thepacker.com/news/dole-plant-remain-closed-february-listeria-probe-continues
Dole plant to remain closed into February as listeria probe continues
By Doug Carder January 28, 2016 | 3:01 pm EST

Dole Fresh Vegetables Inc.’s Springfield, Ohio, plant will remain closed into February while regulatory and company officials continue to investigate the plant’s connection to a listeria outbreak in the U.S. and Canada.

Dole reported Jan. 21 to U.S. health officials it had temporarily suspended operation of its Springfield plant and was contacting its retail accounts to remove all Dole and private label packaged salads produced there.

Dole’s action came after U.S. health officials informed the company of a listeria outbreak. Illnesses have been reported in six U.S. states and five Canadian provinces, hospitalizing more than 20 people and possibly causing one death in Michigan.

“Dole Fresh Vegetable’s Springfield plant will remain closed until the issue has been resolved — we are hopeful two to four weeks,” Bil Goldfield, Dole spokesperson, said in a Jan. 28 e-mail.

Packaged salad orders from the Springfield plant will be produced at other Dole processing facilities until the plant is back online, Goldfield said in the e-mail.

“During that period all production will be made out of plants in Soledad, Calif., and Bessemer City, N.C.,” Goldfield said. “We are focused on getting our employees back to work and to resuming operations at our facility in Springfield, a community about which we care deeply.”

Dole also said in a news release it was changing the terminology of its product removal from voluntary withdrawal to voluntary recall.

“Our voluntary product recall is a result of a suspected link of the products to a listeria outbreak, but the exact source is still unknown,” Dole said in a release. “We are working closely with regulatory agencies as our Springfield plant undergoes additional investigation and testing.”

Voluntary recall is a specific term used by the Food and Drug Administration that is known to consumers, Dole said on the company’s website.

“While our actions under a voluntary recall as compared to the previously reported voluntary withdrawal remain the same, we have updated our communication terminology to reference a ‘recall,’” Dole officials said in a release. “We have done this with the aim of using terminology that may be more familiar to consumers.”

Dole’s primary concern is always the health and safety of its consumers, Goldfield said.

“That’s why we are coordinating closely with the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” Goldfield said in the e-mail. “We are providing updates as they become available on our website, Dole.com. As we coordinate with the FDA and CDC, we are not providing further commentary outside of our website at this time.”

Recalled brands of packaged salads include Dole, Fresh Selections, Simple Truth, Marketside, The Little Salad Bar and President’s Choice. Packaged salad products being recalled are identified with a product code beginning with the letter “A” in the upper right-hand corner of the package, according to the news release.

Since July 5 last year, 15 people from six states have been reported being infected with listeria, Dole officials said in a release.

All cases led to hospitalization, and one person died in Michigan, U.S. health officials said. The CDC has not disclosed information about the death.

The Public Health Agency of Canada reported seven people were infected with listeria in five provinces and became ill between September 2015 and early January 2016. All individuals were hospitalized, and one person has died although it has not been determined if listeria contributed to the cause of death, Canadian health officials said.

The agency is awaiting test results that identify cause of death, Maryse Durette, a spokesperson for the Canadian health agency, said Jan. 28.

“Testing is going on now at the local public health level,” she said.

The national health agency had not been informed of when those tests might be completed, Durette said. Canadian officials also were not releasing information about where the death occurred, she said.

Canadian health officials announced Jan. 23 they were collaborating with U.S. health officials in the investigation.

“We understand that the Centers for Disease Control believes five of these seven (Canadian) cases are highly related to the listeria cases in the United States due to genetic testing,” Dole said in a release.

All retailers in the U.S. and Canada who received the products being recalled have been contacted, Dole officials said in a release.

No additional Dole facilities are known to be affected at this time. Other Dole products, including fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and packaged salads from Dole’s other processing facilities with product codes beginning with the letters “B” or “N” are not part of this voluntary recall, according to the Dole release.

“Transparency and safety remain our top concerns and we will provide updates as additional information is available,” Dole’s Goldfield said in an email.