In the latest episode of companies recalling their products off of the shelves and from distributors, Dole Food Co. with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have announced that the bagged Seven Lettuces salads may be contaminated with salmonella. The products which have been so far distributed in 15 out of the 50 states in the U.S. are still being recalled if they have the expiration date of April 11, 2012, the UPC code 7143001057 and product codes 0577N089112A & 0577N089112B .
A testing of a random Seven Lettuces product came back positive for salmonella in the state of New York.
The results of the test prompted Dole Food Co. to immediately recall the concerned products and warn consumers in the states of Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin to throw out the products with the above details.
Meanwhile, there appears to have been pockets of salmonella outbreaks in the states of Wisconsin and Virginia which are currently being associated with consumption of a yellowfin tuna product called Nakaochi Scrape which is used for sashimi and other dishes.
So far, more than 20 cases have been confirmed with a few hospitalizations of those infected.
The FDA traced the salmonella contamination back to a ‘Moon Marine U.S.A. Corporation’ in the California city of Cupertino as its origin.
Last July, the United States had another salmonella outbreak on its hands with salmonella-infected papayas from Mexico which were distributed by Texan company Agromod Produce.
Earlier that year, salmonella also contaminated cantaloupes & sprouts. And the year before that, more than 2,000 cases of salmonella infected individuals popped up due to salmonella contaminated eggs.
And very recently, Canada also had salmonella problems of its own.
In Canada, a Intercity Packers Ltd. had to recall its Beef Burger Meat Mix 80/20 as a result of ongoing salmonella investigations carried out by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Salmonella contaminated food is largely undetectable by mere sight, smell or taste which is why it is considered life threatening to certain groups of people such as infants or pregnant women.
Symptoms of salmonella may include fever, diarrhea and abnormal cramps in the stomach area after several days of consuming contaminated material.
It may or may not clear up on its own.
(Cover Photo: Associated Press)
