Dole recalls greens over possible E. coli contamination

Dole recalls greens over possible E. coli contamination Food producer Dole has announced a voluntary recall of more than 5,000 bag of salad mix over concerns of possible E. coli contamination, coming almost exactly one year after a nationwide spinach scare.
   The recall, announced Monday after a bag of Dole’s Hearts Delight salad mix sold at a store in Canada tested positive for the bacteria, affects 528 bags of the mix distributed in Canada, and 4,530 bags distributed in nine U.S. states. Westlake Village, Calif.-based Dole said the components of the romaine, green leaf and butter lettuce hearts mix were grown in California, Colorado and Ohio, then processed at Dole’s plant in Springfield, Ohio, on Sept. 6.
   No reports of illness from the product have been reported and tests at the Springfield plant by Dole and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration came back negative for E. coli.
   The recall affects all packages of the Hearts Delight mix sold in the U.S. and Canada labeled with a “best if used by” date of Sept. 19, and a production code of “A24924A” or “A24924B.” According to Dole, the packages were sold around Sept. 8 in Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime Provinces. Dole warned that the product may have been distributed outside of the nine listed states and provinces.
   Last year, three people died and hundreds were sickened during an E. coli outbreak within bagged baby spinach sold under the Dole brand. The source of the contamination was eventually tracked to a central California cattle ranch next to spinach fields belonging to one of Dole’s suppliers.
   The strain of E. coli discovered in the salad mix may not cause food to look or smell spoiled, but the bacteria can still cause life-threatening illness.
   Symptoms can include severe abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea, and seizures or strokes. Some cases can lead to the need for blood transfusions, kidney dialysis, or even permanent kidney damage.