A California company has expanded its voluntary recall of several varieties of fruit over fears of potential contamination,
according to a news release sent out by the Wawona Packing Company.
On July 19, the Cutler, California-based company had already recalled peaches, nectarines, plums, and pluots that were packed in the company’s facility from June 1 to July 12 because of potential contamination by Listeria monocytogenes. Wawona expanded the nationwide recall on July 31 to include all foods packed at the Cutler facility.
Urgent: Do You Approve Or Disapprove of President Obama's Job Performance? Vote Now in Urgent Poll
“Wawona Packing believes in the highest standards of food safety,” Wawona President Brent Smittcamp said in a statement. “We have been working around the clock to determine the source of the Listeria monocytogenes. We have brought in nationally known experts in food safety to investigate every part of our packing facility, and we are working with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.”
“By taking the precautionary step of recalling product, we will minimize even the slightest risk to public health,”
Smittcamp told The Associated Press last month after the initial recall, adding that he wasn’t aware of any illnesses caused by the fruit.
Wawona officials said the fruit was packed with "Sweet2 Eat," "Sweet 2 Eat Organic," "Mrs. Smittcamp’s," and other private labels. According to the AP, the fruit was packed and shipped to Costco Wholesale Corp. and Trader Joe’s.
“Listeria monocytogenes is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail, or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems,” according to the Wawona company release. “Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.”
“Anyone who has the recalled products in their possession should not consume them and should discard them,” the company said.
The Wawona facility stopped packing fruit on July 18 after an internal test, company officials said, and retrofitted equipment and sanitized the facility.
“Our packing lines in the Cutler, California, facility will not reopen until we know, in consultation with experts, that they are safe,” according to the company’s statement.
Urgent: Assess Your Heart Attack Risk in Minutes. Click Here.