Huge frozen food recall over listeria fears - with some affected products dating as far back as 2014
- Massive frozen foods recall involves millions of packages of fruits and vegetables
- Authorities wanting to stem listeria-linked illnesses worry it'll be hard to get consumers to check freezers for products dating as far back as 2014
- Food recall is one of the largest in recent memory with products from CRF Frozen Foods in Pasco, Washington
- Eight people have been sickened by listeria
- And two have died, though listeria was not the primary cause of death
A massive frozen foods recall over listeria fears involves millions of packages of fruits and vegetables that were shipped to all 50 U.S. states, Canada and Mexico.
Now authorities who want to stem the listeria-linked illnesses and deaths worry it will be difficult to get consumers to dig through their freezers and check for products they may have bought as far back as 2014.
The food recall is one of the largest in recent memory, with more than 400 products from CRF Frozen Foods in Pasco, Washington, sold under more than 40 different brand names at major retailers.
Those retailers include Costco, Target, Trader Joe's and Safeway.
The outside of CRF Frozen Foods, LLC, in Pasco, Washington is pictured above. The company shut down its processing operations over a listeria breakout that has sickened customers in several state
The food recall is one of the largest in recent memory, with well over 400 products from CRF Frozen Foods in Pasco, Washington, sold under more than 40 different brand names at major retailers like Costco, Target and Trader Joe's. A 4-lb bag of Wellsley Farms Organic Mixed Vegetables pictured, which is part of recall
So far, eight people have been sickened by listeria that is genetically similar to that found in CRF vegetables, and two have died, though listeria was not the primary cause of death.
'Unquestionably, this is a lot of product... It reflects the severity of listeria as an illness, the long duration of illnesses and the outbreak and the long shelf life of the products,' said Matthew Wise, who leads the outbreak response team at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The initial recall started April 22, covering 11 frozen vegetable products.
On May 2, CRF expanded it to include all of its frozen organic and traditional fruit and vegetable products manufactured or processed at its Washington plant since May 1, 2014.
Thanks to recently developed whole-genome sequencing of food-contaminating bacteria, the Food and Drug Administration and CDC found that the listeria bacteria found in the blood of a person sickened in 2013 is genetically similar to the listeria tied to the recall.
'The idea is that it's possible that it could be linked to this plant as far back as that because of the match,'CRF spokesman Gene Grabowski said.
'As a result the company, working with the FDA, decided to do the recall that far back.'
The CRF plant closed two weeks ago and Grabowski said the company is still trying to pinpoint the source of the contamination.
Wise said he wants consumers to check the online recall lists and discard the products from their freezers.
'Listeriosis always makes us worry because it's such a serious infection,' he said.
Products were both packaged for sale as individual products and repackaged by places like Piggly Wiggly, Kroger and ConAgra foods as ingredients in a host of other store-brand and private-label products for stores like Trader Joe's and Costco
The CDC says listeria is most harmful to adults over 65 with weakened immune systems and pregnant women.
Products were both packaged for sale as individual products and repackaged by places like Piggly Wiggly, Kroger and ConAgra foods as ingredients in a host of other store-brand and private-label products for stores like Trader Joe's and Costco.
Also, retailers including Target and regional distributors such as Midwest grocery chain Hy-Vee Foods have recently recalled products made by Tokyo-based Ajinomoto Windsor due to the company recalling 70 of its Asian variety products that contain CRF vegetables — about 47 million pounds worth — some of which were also sold in Canada and Mexico.
The FDA and CDC have developed a system to track the genetic makeup of salmonella, listeria and E.coli.
Once a food-related illness outbreak is identified, scientists can match the DNA from contaminated food with the bacteria making people sick and potentially trace it to the originating food processing plant.
The initial recall started April 22, covering 11 frozen vegetable products (a portion of the current list pictured. Full list available here)
On May 2, CRF expanded the list (a portion of it pictured) to include all of its frozen organic and traditional fruit and vegetable products manufactured or processed at its Washington plant since May 1, 2014
In this outbreak, of those eight who were sick, six were in California. The two people who died were from Maryland and Washington.
Authorities say it is unclear why there are not more illnesses from listeria.
Wise said that the levels of listeria contamination might not be high or may be uneven in the packaged vegetables.
Also, the vegetables in the recall are typically cooked before they're eaten, which would kill the bacteria.
The CDC continues to monitor state illness reports for any sign of additional cases, Wise said.
Listeria causes an estimated 1,600 cases of illness each year in the U.S., but just half are reported. About 18 per cent of listeriosis patients die.
FDA spokeswoman Lauren Sucher said it is important to follow label directions for cooking frozen foods and to check freezers thoroughly for the products listed on the FDA website.
- Brazilian TV host Richard Rasmussen runs from raging waters
- Uber shooter Jason Dalton dragged out of courtroom
- Fight shows McDonald's workers duking it out over apple pie
- HS girl allegedly filmed having sex with 25 boys on snapchat
- Tumbling artist goes to new heights w/ impressive gymnastics
- Terrifying dash cam footage shows cop fighting for his life
- Man teaches adorable wolf club how to howl
- Notoriously deadly cobra almost bites audience member in...
- Kitten delight! Adorable felines cosy up to their mum
- Police body cam footage shows man die after being tasered
- Colorado mother beats and threatens to kill 2-year-old son
- Drama at wrestling match as loser's bodyguard pulls out GUN
- Oh, how beauteous mankind is! All-female cast perform NUDE...
- High school student, 15, is caught on Snapchat having sex...
- Police find ammunition in car of gunman who was shot down...
- EXCLUSIVE: What Bill Clinton's 'Energizer mistress' looks...
- Flight MS804 was on fire BEFORE it crashed: French...
- The VERY racy past of the British beauty sweeping Tyga off...
- ISIS execute 25 people by DISSOLVING them in nitric acid:...
- Uber gunman who killed six is DRAGGED out of court after his...
- Married mom-of-two, 48, walks hand-in-hand with her husband...
- 'No wonder Charlize Theron left him after they finished this...
- Were EgyptAir passengers alive for three minutes as smoke...
- Air hostess on doomed EgyptAir jet posted picture of a...