MONTEREY, CALIF. – Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. is recalling some packaged salad products processed at its manufacturing plants in Springfield, Ohio, and Soledad, Calif. Equipment used to harvest raw iceberg lettuce used in the packaged salads was found to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, according to the company.
This is the second Listeria-related recall for Dole Fresh Vegetables, a business unit of the Dole Food Co. The first recall, announced on Dec. 22, 2021, involved packaged salads processed at plants in Bessemer City, NC, and Yuma, Ariz. It is not clear if the two recalls are related.
Products being recalled from the Springfield plant were processed between Dec. 22, 2021, and Jan. 9. Products from the Soledad plant were processed between Dec. 23, 2021, and Jan. 8. The products were distributed throughout most of the United States and some Canadian provinces.
No illnesses have been associated with the recalled products, Dole Fresh Vegetables said.
Dole is not the only company recalling packaged salads due to potential Listeria contamination. On Dec. 21, Fresh Express, a business unit of Chiquita, recalled salad kits manufactured at its Streamwood, Ill.
The Dole and Fresh Express recalls in late December were associated with an outbreak of Listeria that has sickened 16 people in 13 states. The outbreak has resulted in 12 hospitalizations and two deaths, according to the Food and Drug Administration.