Pre-packaged vegetables sold under the brand names Green Giant, Signature Farms and Trader Joe’s have been recalled over listeria fears.
Manufacturer Growers Express voluntarily recalled the products – including butternut squash, cauliflower, select vegetable bowls and zucchini – after the bacteria was found in a sample in Massachusetts.
The vegetables were produced at a factory in Biddeford, Maine, and shipped to grocery stores in 29 states and Washington, DC.
Health officials say no one has reported any illnesses from consuming the products, according to a release from the US Food and Drug Administration.
Manufacturer Growers Express recalled the products, which are sold under the brand names
‘The safety of our consumers is our first priority,’ Tom Byrne, president of Growers Express, said in a statement.
‘We self-reported the need for this recall to the US Food and Drug Administration and stopped production immediately after being notified of a single positive sample by the Massachusetts Department of Health.
Byrne said the company is ‘deep sanitizing’ the entire facility and line equipment before it resumes producing the vegetables.
The recalled products were shipped to both local grocery stores and major retailers such as Food Lion and Trader Joe’s.
Affected states include Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington, DC.
The recalled products have best-if-used-by dates between June 26 and June 29, 2019.
Customers are urged not to consume the products and either throw them out or return them to the store where they were purchased for a refund.
Anyone with questions can call Grower’s Express customer service line at (831) 757-9951 during business hours.
Packages were shipped to both local grocery stores and major retailers -such as Food Lion and Trader Joe’s – in 29 states and Washington, DC
Growers Express said the recall does not affect any of Green Giant’s canned or frozen vegetable products.
Listeria is a bacteria found in soil and water, and can survive refrigerator – even freezing – temperatures.
Infection symptoms can take as little as two days and as long as 30 days to appear and include fever, chills, nausea and diarrhea.
If the infection spreads to the nervous system, sufferers may experience headaches, loss of balance and lack of alertness.
Healthy people don’t often become ill from the infection, but it can be life-threatening for those with compromised immune systems and pregnant women.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 1,600 people get sick from listeria bacteria every year, and around 260 people die.