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Food recalls: What prompts them and what you should know
Dr. Kimberly Baker, a food systems and safety program team director for Clemson Cooperative Extension shared what kicks off a food recall and what consumers can do to stay up to date on food safety in the U.S. (Credit: AP Campus Insights/Kimberly Baker, Clemson University)
Cream cheese and ready-to-eat deli-style salads are facing a recall over potential listeria contamination.
New York-based Made Fresh Salads, Inc. issued a recall this week for all of its cream cheese products and Ready-to-Eat Deli Style Salads in response to the listeria risk.
Made Fresh Salads' recalled cream cheese items include 5-pound and 30-pound tubs of various flavors, such as 5-pound apple cinnamon cream cheese, 5-pound tofu vegetable spread, 30-pound whipped cream cheese and 30-pound scallion cream cheese.
Made Fresh Salads, Inc. issued a recall this week for all of its cream cheese products and Ready-to-Eat Deli Style Salads. (Getty Images / Getty Images)
The company also recalled dozens of ready-to-eat salad products, including 5-pound chickpea salad, 5-pound bow tie pesto, 30-pound macaroni salad and 30-pound potato salad.
MORE THAN 1,500 POUNDS OF PORK RECALLED OVER LISTERIA CONTAMINATION RISK
The company’s 7-pound chocolate pudding, 6-pound vanilla pudding, 12-piece crab cakes and 12-piece potato croquettes were also subject to the recall.
Affected items have expiration dates ranging from Sept. 3 to Sept. 18.
The salads and cream cheese items were distributed in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx in New York City in 5-pound and 30-pound white plastic tubs with a Made Fresh Salads label or Northside label and half-size aluminum pans.
DOG SUPPLEMENTS RECALLED OVER POTENTIAL SALMONELLA CONTAMINATION
The products may have been repacked by retail locations in deli-style or other retail packaging, according to the company, although retail packaging and coding can vary based on purchase location.
The recall was initiated following environmental sampling by the company and the Food and Drug Administration, revealing that some areas of the facility tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. The company has ceased production and distribution of the products as it continues to investigate, along with the FDA, what caused the contamination.
A listeria infection can cause symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, as well as miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
It can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems.
No illnesses have been reported thus far in connection with the recalled products.
Consumers who purchased the affected items are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.
Find more updates on this story at FOXBusiness.com.