Frozen Green Beans Recalled Due to Positive Listeria Test

A Canadian firm with a US repack facility is recalling frozen green beans after Connecticut Dept of Consumer Protection found one Listeria positive sample.
Based upon information gleaned from a company write-up in Business View Magazine (Sept 2017) this product is probably not domestic.  And like all Listeria related outbreaks, it will be a question of whether more product will be pulled into the recall. Much of that will depend on the investigation into the packing facility's Listeria Control Plan.

This is the type of product that would fall under the Foreign Supplier Verification program with the foreign company being the FSVP Importer having the US facility.  And this is why the address in the announcement is the facility in Virginia.

In the Business View write-up, the following passage is interesting.  Clearly, they see their product as meeting ready-to-eat standards. As Lee Corso would say...'not so fast my friend'.

Another growing item of concern to Tentomas [company founder] is food safety. “There’s been a major shift change in both regulatory as well as consumer behavior in how we eat these products,” he states. “Consumers today are eating raw and frozen fruits and vegetables, putting them in their smoothies and putting them in their salads, and there have been some major recalls in 2016 for both frozen fruits and a massive one in frozen vegetables. So, the food safety landscape has changed significantly. And what you’re seeing is the industry looking at their product as truly ‘ready-to-eat.’ Therefore, we need to establish the food safety parameters that come with a ready-to-eat product. And we see more significant change coming in enforcing the guidelines. That’s going to be one major change that will be positive for consumers because it will result in dramatic decreases in potential contamination of frozen fruits and vegetables. As an industry, we have a tremendous responsibility in making sure that we improve the food safety profile as consumers are eating more and more of it.”

FDA Recall Notice
https://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm584148.htm
Nature’s Touch Frozen Foods Voluntarily Recalls Nature’s Touch Frozen Organic Fine Whole Green Beans Because of Possible Health Risk
For Immediate Release
November 7, 2017

Contact
Consumers Consumer Service info@naturestouch.ca  1-877-850-2664

Announcement

View Product Photos


Nature’s Touch Frozen Foods LLC. of Front Royal, Virginia is voluntarily recalling one product, Nature’s Touch Frozen Organic Fine Whole Green Beans, due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.

Nature’s Touch is issuing this voluntary recall after a routine sampling program by the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection found one positive result of Listeria monocytogenes in one retail bag of the product. Nature’s Touch has immediately ceased the production and distribution of this product and is working in full collaboration with the FDA on this recall.

Nature’s Touch Frozen Organic Fine Whole Green Beans were distributed through three retailers in the following states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia. All affected retailers have been contacted to ensure that the recalled product is removed from store shelves. Other products of Nature’s Touch Frozen Foods LLC. are not affected.

Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that may cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

To date, there have been no reported illnesses associated with the product that is the subject of this recall:
Brand  Product  Size  UPC  Best Before Dates
Nature’s Touch Organic Fine Whole Green Beans 10 oz (283g) 8 73668 00141 8 2017 JUN 04 to 2019
JUN 21

Consumers who have purchased Nature’s Touch Frozen Organic Fine Whole Green Beans are urged to discard it or return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. The Nature’s Touch Consumer Service Team will be available to answer any questions Monday to Friday from 9AM to 5 PM EST by phone at: 1-877-850-2664 or by email at: info@naturestouch.ca.

At Nature’s Touch, our passion is finding the highest-quality frozen foods for our consumers and we are deeply committed to food safety at every production stage. This voluntary recall reflects our dedication to ensuring the safety of our consumers while enjoying our products.