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Dole salad mix recall -- E coli - US & Canada


MommyToAshley wrote: Uggghh, here we go again. mad.gif



September 17 2007: 10:11 PM EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A division of Dole Food Co. issued an international recall of bagged salad Monday after a sample taken from a store in Canada tested positive for E. coli, the company said.

There have been no reports of illness, company officials said.

The voluntary recall affects all packages of Dole's Hearts Delight salad mix sold in the United States and Canada with a "best if used by" date of Sept. 19, 2007, and a production code of "A24924A" or "A24924B," Dole said.

The product was sold in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime Provinces in Canada and in Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania,and Tennessee starting around Sept. 8, said Marty Ordman, a Dole spokesman. The product may have been available in other U.S. states wholesalers distributed to, Ordman said.

The romaine, green leaf and butter lettuce hearts that went into the blend were grown in California, Colorado and Ohio, then processed at Dole's plant in Springfield, Ohio on Sept. 6, according to Ordman.

Eighty-eight cases - or 528 bags - were distributed in Canada and 755 cases containing 4,530 bags in the U.S., he said.

The company's move came a day after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned consumers not to eat Hearts Delight.

"Our overriding concern is for consumer safety," Eric Schwartz, president of the Dole Fresh Vegetable division said in a statement. He said the company was working with U.S. and Canadian health agencies, as well as those in various states.

The Food and Drug Administration was talking with Westlake Village, Calif.-based Dole about the situation, agency spokesman Michael Herndon said.

The Canadian agency said it would be looking to find out at what point the salad blend, which is imported into Canada, became contaminated and to see if any other products are affected, spokesman Garfield Balsom said.

Last year, an E. coli outbreak traced to bagged baby spinach was blamed for the deaths of three people and for sickening hundreds more across the U.S.

State and federal authorities ultimately identified a central California cattle ranch next to spinach fields belonging to one of Dole's suppliers as being the source of the bacteria.

Food contaminated with this strain of E. coli may not look or smell spoiled but health officials say the bacteria can cause life-threatening illnesses.

Symptoms include severe abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea; some people can have seizures or strokes and some may need blood transfusions and kidney dialysis, while others may live with permanent kidney damage.




Crystalina replied: dry.gif

coasterqueen replied: Yep, saw this one this morning. dry.gif #1 I'm glad I don't like salad/most vegetables blush.gif and #2 we usually grow our own lettuce and when we run out we buy from our farmer.

CantWait replied: mad.gif mad.gif Really now!!!!!! I think I've given up on buying bagged salad. Funny thing is, the other day I went to the store, had a bag of of the romaine hearts in the cart and when I went to pay, there was no money in the account, needless to say no groceries....>THANK GOD. dry.gif

jcc64 replied: It always seems to be the bagged salad. Wonder why- it's supposed to be washed thoroughly- though I've never NOT washed it myself. The loose greens, which aren't washed at all- they never seem to be implicated. Maybe it's the water they're using at the plants themselves....

Karen- I'm jealous. We ate all of our lettuce long ago. We're big sald eaters over here, but nary a lettuce farmer up here in the mountains.

MommyToAshley replied:
I think it seldom has to do with the handling of the product, but how it is actually grown. At least that has been the case with the past few recalls. So, washing it wouldn't make a difference. (If it is a vegetable you cook, it could help if it is heated to a certain internal temp) That's where I was confused on how organic would be any more safe as they use manuer from cows.

I am also confused why the bagged produce seems to be the products recalled if it is not due to contamination during handling... unless a certain region grows the produce for the sole purpose to be bagged and that region or particular farm is not practicing safe methods?

I hate this.. I LOVE LOVE LOVE salads! Why can't the food we eat and the toys our kids play with be safe??!!!??!!

coasterqueen replied:
Yeah, well I don't think we'll get it from our farmer any longer. It's been a few weeks since I bought some from him. In the months we don't get it from him we buy organic - we buy the heads of lettuce. I'm not sure, but I think there is less likely the issue of ecoli with that. I'm not sure???? I don't eat salad at all, but Kylie and Ryan love it.

We do tend to eat less of it in the winter months, though. DH got a very bad case of food poisoning from bag salad back in college. He was very sick and we've been extra cautious of food in general since there.

~Roo'sMama~ replied: Ugh I hate this! I haven't bought Dole brand salad for awhile because we've been doing our shopping at Walmart and so I've been buying their brand... but who knows if any of it is safe? If I'm remembering it right from the last time, the E coli came from the soil right? So wouldn't that mean that all Dole salad might be contaminated, not just the bagged kind? I don't understand how their head lettuce would be any safer, unless they grow it in a while different field or something. wacko.gif

Karen - the last bagged salad recall was Earthbound organic wasn't it? Since it's in the soil I don't think it matters if it's organic or not. dunno.gif

grapfruit replied: Nice...Maybe people in Springfield should take baths...or at least wash their hands tongue.gif

Sorry to anyone who lives in Springfield btw....My dad found his evil wife there. So I feel it my right to smack down on them happy.gif

coasterqueen replied:
No it doesn't matter if it's organic or not. It DOES matter, IMO if you buy it from a local farmer or these bigger corporations - in how things are grown and taken care of. Organic means more than just "organic" it means buying food as close to home as possible - not grown in huge plants, or from huge corporations which tend to not follow the "rules" as well, etc. The closer you buy it to "home" - local farmers, etc - especially organic farms don't just grow food for money - it's a passionate thing for them. It means something to them and they pride in it. They aren't trying to do something the cheapest way possible to make more money. I can only say this by dealing with the "local" farmers I've dealt with. And when I mean local I mean in my state, not just in my town.

jcc64 replied: Another reason buying local produce is good is b/c it uses fewer ecologically damaging resources to make it to market- i.e.- fossil fuels being used to truck/transport/fly/ship etc... less packaging as well!
In addition, local produce just tastes better because it is allowed to mature as long as possible before being picked, as opposed to produce grown far away, which obviously have to be harvested prematurely. Who knows what preservatives or chemicals are applied to protect the products during the long journey to their final destination.

And Dee Dee- organic produce is not immune to the ecoli problem, unless they are not using animal manure, I guess. One of the recalls in the summer was Earthbound- which is a huge (relatively speaking) organic corp. But generally, organic farmers do show more respect and reverence for the land, as well as for the quality and safety of their products- it's intrinsic to what organic is all about.

coasterqueen replied:
You said it better than me. Thanks Jeanne. happy.gif

~Roo'sMama~ replied:
Ah ok, that makes sense. happy.gif

holley79 replied: This is getting crazy.

punkeemunkee'smom replied: SO Frightening! blink.gif

Cece00 replied: This has been the 2nd time for Dole.

I'm glad I dont eat Dole.


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