First it was onions and now, it’s lemons, limes, oranges and red potatoes.
The FDA has announced a voluntary recall by Freshouse II LLC due to a potential listeria contamination.
The recall was issued after Freshouse found Listeria monocytogenes on a piece of equipment at one of its packing facilities, according to a statement on the FDA website.
“We voluntarily issued this recall out of an abundance of caution with the steadfast intent to minimize even the slightest risk to public health,” Freshouse President Jamey Friedman said in a statement.
The recalled products were shipped directly to retailer distribution centers in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia and to wholesalers in Maryland and North Carolina. Affected products include Freshouse limes, Nature’s Promise Organic limes, Fresh from the Start red potatoes and lemons, as well as Wegmans lemons and California Valencia oranges.
Wegmans is also recalling products that contain or used the recalled fresh lemons. You can find the list or products here.
Specific details and pictures of the recalled products can be found here.
This is the second such voluntary recall of produce this month.
On August 1, the FDA warned consumers not to eat red, white, yellow and sweet onions from Thomson International, Inc. due to a possible salmonella contamination.
The onions, which were sold at stores including Walmart, Kroger and Publix, caused 640 people in 43 states to be infected with salmonella, with at least 85 of them being hospitalized.
For the lemons, limes, oranges and potatoes, no illnesses have been reported, according to the FDA.
Freshouse says they have ceased production and distribution of the products and “are continually evaluating our cleaning and sanitation regimes.”
Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems, according to the FDA.
Healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. However, Listeria infection can be particularly tragic for those carrying babies, and can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.