Dole recalls bagged salad mix over E.coli fears

Dole Fresh Vegetables, a division of American-based agricultural multinational corporation Dole Food Company, Inc., announced on Monday that it is voluntary recalling 5,058 packages of bagged salad mix, or about 2,500 pounds of greens, due to possible E. coli contamination.

Dole’s announcement came after a sample of Dole branded salad mix in a Canadian store was tested positive for E. coli, prompting new produce fears almost exactly a year after a nationwide spinach scare. The sample of salad mix was randomly selected for testing from the store.

Canadian health officials confirmed Monday that they have found traces of E.coli 0157:H7, a potentially lethal bacterium, in a bag of Dole Hearts Delight salad mix.

The current recall involves all salad bags bearing the label "Dole Hearts Delight" sold in the U.S. and Canada, and carry a "best if used by (BIUB)" date of September 19, 2007, and a production code of "A24924A" or "A24924B".

The affected salad was sold in plastic bags of 227 grams in Canada and one-half pound in the U.S., with UPC code 071430-01038, the company said. Eighty-eight cases or 528 bags of tainted salad had been distributed in Canada and 755 cases containing 4,530 bags were sold in the United States, a Dole spokesman said.

Packaged in a see-through bag made of specially designed film to keep the salad fresh, the Dole Hearts Delight salad consists of romaine, green leaf and butter lettuce hearts, which according to Dole spokesman Marty Ordman were grown in California, Colorado and Ohio, and then processed at Dole's plant in Springfield, Ohio, on Sept. 6.

Although, no cases of illness associated with using the affected product have been officially reported, but Dole Fresh Vegetables division said it would be "better safe than sorry" since the bacteria can cause life-threatening illnesses.

"Our overriding concern is for consumer safety. We are working closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and several U.S. state health departments," stated Eric Schwartz, President, Dole Fresh Vegetables.

The tainted salad bags were sold in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime Provinces in Canada and in Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and neighboring states in the United States.

This is not the first time Dole’s product is linked to E.coli contamination instead exactly a year ago an E. coli outbreak was traced to bagged baby spinach sold under the Dole brand.

The bagged California-grown spinach that was packed for Dole by another firm, Natural Selection Foods of San Benito County, was blamed for the deaths of three people and for sickening hundreds more across the country.

Consequently, Dole ended its relationship with Natural Selection this spring, saying it would process its own salad mixes in the future. Dole has increased testing and tracking of produce to prevent disease outbreaks. It already has started a new high-tech system for tracking its products from field to store, using radio-frequency identification labels and global positioning satellites.

One of the chief culprits behind food borne diseases, Escherichia coli O157:H7 was first discovered in 1982. E. coli is known to release a deadly toxin that causes the disease. It spreads through ground beef, bean sprouts and leafy vegetables and is characterized by the symptoms of stomach cramps, dehydration and bloody diarrhea. The infection generally clears up in 5 to 10 days time.

However serious infection is known to cause kidney failure and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a disease that affects mostly children under the age of 10, but also may affect the elderly as well as persons with other illnesses.