Salinas, California based leafy green supplier River Ranch Fresh Foods has initiated a nationwide recall of pre-made bagged salads after discovering a Listeria contamination. No illnesses have been reported yet, but if you are one of the many folks too lazy to chop their own carrots, you may want to check the list of affected products which are sold under a variety of labels across the country.
The bagged salads carry a variety of wholesome-sounding names like: River Ranch, Farm Stand, Hy-Vee, Marketside, Shurfresh, The Farmer’s Market, Cross Valley, Fresh n Easy, Promark, and Sysco. (That last one being one of the largest restaurant suppliers in the country.) The recalled salads have either “Best By” code dates between 12MAY2012 - 29MAY2012 or Julian dates between 116 - 125, according to the company's recall announcement.
In healthy folks, Listeria generally causes short-term symptoms like fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. In young children and the elderly, however, it can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections.