BESSEMER CITY, N.C. — Dole Fresh Vegetables is asking customers to check their fridges after a recall was announced for salads processed at two plants.
The company announced on Wednesday, Dec. 22, it is voluntarily recalling all Dole-branded and private label packaged salads from its Bessemer City, North Carolina, and its Yuma, Arizona facilities due to "possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes."
It is also temporarily suspending operations at both facilities for an extensive cleaning and sanitation protocol.
Products part of the recall are identified with a product code beginning with either the letter "N" or "Y" in the upper right-hand corner of the package and will have a "Best if Used By" date between Nov. 30 through Jan.8, 2022.
According to the company, the decision to suspend operations and recall all products from the facilities was made after a strain of Listeria monocytogenes isolated in a package of Dole-branded garden salad produced in the Bessemer City plant. A package of shredded iceberg lettuce was also analyzed from the Yuma plant.
"Both of those items were randomly sampled by the state of Georgia and the state of Michigan, respectively, and were a genetic match with a strain of Listeria monocytogenes which FDA and CDC believe is responsible for sixteen illnesses since 2014," Dole says in the news release.
Recalled salad items from the Bessemer City facility were distributed in the states of AL, CT, FL, GA, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MS, NC, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, and VA.
Recalled salad items from the Yuma facility were distributed in the states of AL, AZ, CT, FL, IA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MA, MI, MN, MS, NC, ND, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, and WI.
You can learn more about the recall alert by visiting Dole's website.