Listeria Outbreak Linked to Dole Salads From Ohio Facility

http://www.wsj.com/articles/cdc-links-listeria-outbreak-to-dole-foods-ohio-facility-1453493700

Dole Food Co. has suspended production at an Ohio plant and is withdrawing packaged salads produced there after a multistate listeria outbreak has over the last six months resulted in the hospitalization of 12 people, including one who died.

Dole’s fresh-vegetables unit on Friday said it is voluntarily removing products sold in 23 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. The company on Thursday told the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that it had halted production at its Springfield, Ohio, processing facility.

The CDC said health officials began investigating the listeriosis outbreak in September, though tests didn’t link the illnesses to packaged salad from the Dole plant until this month. The outbreak has affected people in six states ranging from three to 83 years old, including a Michigan resident who died.

Salad mixes linked to the outbreak include packages carrying the Dole name, as well as store brands such as Kroger Co.’s Simple Truth and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Marketside, the CDC said.