Lettuce Recall over Listeria Fear Expanded to 19 States

A California lettuce farm has issued a recall for almost 2,500 cartons of chopped romaine lettuce because of possible listeria contamination, which is responsible for multi-state outbreak linked with tainted cantaloupes.

Last week, True Leaf Farms announced a recall of romaine lettuce that had been shipped to food service distributors in Oregon, Idaho and Washington. It was initially believed only customers who bought the lettuce in those states were affected.

Later in the day, however, the company was prompted by the FDA to expand the recall, which now includes 19 states and Alberta, Canada.

According to Steve Church, CEO of Church Brothers, which markets the farm’s produce, states affected by the recall now include Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Vermont.

All of the recalled chopped, bagged lettuce had a “use by” date of Sept. 29, 2011. The bag and box code is B256-46438-8.

While there have been no reported sicknesses linked to the recalled lettuce, the melons have been linked to at least 72 illnesses, including up to 16 deaths, in 18 states, according to the FDA.

Despite the fears the listeria tainted cantaloupes have caused, the FDA says the lettuce recall incident is unrelated.

Any consumers with questions about the lettuce recall may call Church Brothers at 1-800-799-9475 or visit the company’s website here.

via CBS