FDA Recalls Produce Nationwide Due to Potential Listeria Contamination

The FDA has issued a warning for several produce products, packaged at an Ohio-based farm, due to potential listeria contamination.

Produce sold at grocery stores across the nation has been recalled due to possible listeria contamination.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has added several fresh produce products to the ever-growing list of goods pulled from grocery store shelves this summer. A total of 27 products, including cucumbers, cilantro, green beans, and peppers, have been recalled due to a potential contamination of listeria monocytogenes.

If contracted, the bacterium can cause severe infections and is known to have a greater effect on young children, elderly people, and people with weakened immune systems.

Additionally, the FDA warns that listeria infections have the potential to cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women. Healthy people are also at risk of symptoms caused by the bacterium, including abdominal pain, diarrhea, headaches, high fever, nausea, and stiffness.

Produced by Ohio-based farm Wiers Farm, the products were packaged between July 5 and July 12, distributed across 17 U.S. states, and sold in major grocery store chains like Aldi, Kroger, and Walmart. Currently, the FDA reports that no illness has been flagged that would be in connection with possible contamination.

The states where the goods are sold are concentrated in the Eastern half of the United Staes, and include Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. For a complete list of what to avoid, click here.

Wiers Farm said it is “taking all measures necessary to fully resolve this situation.” The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that an estimated 1,600 in the country get listeriosis each year, and the bacterium accounts for roughly 260 fatalities annually.

Produce products now join other goods like coffee, ice cream, and hot dogs, which have been recalled by the FDA at some point this year for various potential health risks, including the aforementioned listeria monocytogenes and botulism.