CRF Frozen Foods of Pasco, Washington has expanded its recall of certain frozen fruits and vegetables to include everything produced at its Pasco, Washington plant since May 2014 after learning seven people have become sick with Listeria infections. Two have died.
The expanded recall covers over 350 products covering 42 different brands. The products were sold in all 50 states and in Canada. Several major retailers’ brands are part of the recall, including Costco, Costco Canada, Walmart, Safeway and Trader Joe’s.
This expanded recall is in addition to a recall notice issued by the company and the FDA on April 23, 2016, announcing CRF Frozen Foods was voluntarily recalling 15 frozen vegetable items over fears of contamination with listeria monocytogenes. The story was covered in Digital Journal on April 23.
CRF Frozen Foods posted their notice of the expanded recall at 11:45 p.m. Monday in the form of a news release. The Food and Drug Administration then picked up the recall notice, posting it on the agency website and issuing an alert to subscribers at about 10 a.m. today.
According to the press release, the recalled products include: “organic and non-organic broccoli, butternut squash, carrots, cauliflower, corn, edamame, green beans, Italian beans, kale, leeks, lima beans, onions, peas, pepper strips, potatoes, potato medley, root medley, spinach, sweet potatoes, various vegetable medleys, blends, and stir fry packages, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, peaches, raspberries, and strawberries.”
Again, the long shelf-life of the products is very concerning because some consumers may have them in their home freezers. All affected products have the best by dates or sell by dates between April 26, 2016, and April 26, 2018.
The company suspended operations at its Pasco, Washington plant on April 25, following the initial recall notice. CRF says it has notified all retailers of the expanded recall as of Monday night, May 2, 2016.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has informed CRF Frozen Foods that the government has identified seven people from three states who became ill and were hospitalized due to Listeria. Some of these illnesses have been linked to consuming CRF-manufactured or processed products, and unfortunately, two people died from their illness,” reads the recall notice, according to Food Safety News.
“We apologize for any concern or inconvenience this expanded recall has caused our customers and consumers who enjoy our products. We are issuing this release to alert consumers not to eat these products,” CRF says in its press release.
Consumers with questions may call the company’s consumer hotline at 844-483-3866, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
For a complete list of the affected products under the expanded recall, please go to: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm498841.htm
