Listeria Outbreak Prompts Food Safety Recall

By Cathy Padilla

A recall that started with dairy products linked to a listeria outbreak is expanding to other foods sold at major retailers including Walmart, Costco, and several others. At least 26 people in 11 states, including Florida, have become sick from the outbreak. The latest items being recalled include dips, dressings, salad, and taco kits and follows a recall of nearly 60 cheese and dairy products produced by Rizo-López Foods, a Modesto, California-based supplier. Federal health officials said they have new evidence that links the company's products to a listeria outbreak first detected nearly ten years ago.

This past weekend, the FDA issued notifications to an additional 10 retailers selling various salad kits and taco kits that contain Rizo-López cheese,

including those carrying the Dole or Fresh Express brand. Stores include Costco, Eagle, Safeway, and Walmart. Home Chef also notified delivery customers via email that several meals may not include the cheese required for the dishes and advised customers to discard the cheese if one of the specific meal kits did come with it.

The investigation into the outbreak is ongoing, according to the FDA. Consumers are urged to discard the recalled products. Surfaces and containers that came in contact with the products should be sanitized, as listeria can survive in refrigerated environments and spread. According to the CDC, Listeria is most likely to affect pregnant people and newborns, people 65 and older, and those with weakened immune systems. Infection symptoms typically start within two weeks of eating contaminated food and can include fever, muscle aches, nausea, tiredness, vomiting, and diarrhea. More serious cases may also include headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions.

Some of the recalled items include:

• Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. recalled Dole Chopped Kit Avocado Ranch, Dole Chop Kit Avocado Ranch, Dole Premium Kit Southwest Salad, Dole Cajun Ranch Chopped Kit, Dole Premium Kit Endless Summer, Dole Supreme Kit Southwest Salad, President’s Choice Southwest Salad Kit, and Marketside Chopped Salad Kit Bacon Ranch Crunch (best-if-used-by dates ranging from February 3, 2024 to February 21, 2024), all of which were processed on the same line as a recalled cheese.  

• Fresh Express recalled the Marketside Southwest Chopped Kit (use-by-dates of January 14, 2024 to January 17, 2024 and condiment pack use-by-dates of March 3, 2024) because both had condiment packs containing recalled cheese.