May 04--A widespread voluntary recall of frozen fruits and vegetables possibly contaminated with listeria expanded late Monday night to include products sold at several major grocery retailers in the Chicago area after seven people in other states became sick and two died.
The expanded recall issued by CRF Frozen Foods, a Washington-based company, now includes more than 350 products sold under 42 different brands, including some sold at large chains like Wal-Mart, Costco, Jewel-Osco and Trader Joe's in the Chicago area. The recall applies to stores in all 50 states.
Any frozen or conventional fruits and vegetables processed at the company's Pasco, Wash., facility since May 1, 2014 are being recalled, according to the CRF Frozen Foods news release. The expanded recall comes after CRF issued a recall last week for 15 frozen vegetable products.
CRF said it had been contacted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and informed that seven people in three states -- California, Maryland and Washington -- had become ill and hospitalized because of listeria, possibly from eating CRF products. Two of those people died, though not directly from listeria, the company said.
Listeriosis is a serious infection caused by consuming food contaminated with the microscopic organism Listeria monocytogenes, according to the CDC website. It primarily affects infants, pregnant women, elderly people and adults with weakened immune systems.
"We apologize for any concern or inconvenience this expanded recall has caused our customers and consumers who enjoy our products. We are issuing this release to alert consumers not to eat these products," CRF Frozen Foods said in the news release.
All affected products have a "best by" or "sell by" between April 26, 2016, and April 26, 2018, the release said. Customers can return the products to the store where they were purchased for a refund or throw them away.
The recalled products include a wide variety of fruits and vegetables: organic and nonorganic broccoli, butternut squash, carrots, cauliflower, corn, edamame, green beans, Italian beans, kale, leeks, lima beans, onions, peas, pepper strips, potatoes, potato medley, root medley, spinach, sweet potatoes, various vegetable medleys, blends, stir fry packages, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, peaches, raspberries and strawberries.
To determine whether you may have purchased the recall items, click here for the complete list on the Food and Drug Administration website.
