Wal-Mart is among the stores affected by the Reser's Fine Foods recall Sunday of refrigerated salad items that may have Listeria contamination.
Reser's of Beaverton, Ore. is recalling 19 salad items in Ohio and 28 additional states as well as British Columbia because Listeria may be present in some of the onions used in its potato, tuna and macaroni salads.
Salads that Reser's represents include some with the private labels of Wal-Mart, Safeway, Sysco, Stonemill Kitchens, Savemart and FSA, as well as the Reser's label.
Food contaminated with Listeria bacteria can cause listeriosis.
In addition to Listeria causing symptoms in healthy people, the FDA warns that listeriosis is a serious illness that can affect pregnant women and their unborn babies, newborns and other people with immune systems weakened by cancer, diabetes and other diseases.
Pregnant women are 20 times more likely than other healthy adults to get listeriosis because parts of their immune system are suppressed, according to the FDA.
Listeriosis can include the following results, according to the FDA:
- Fever, chills, muscle aches, nausea, diarrhea, or an upset stomach
- Even if a person does not feel sick the infection can still severely affect an unborn baby and lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature labor, the delivery of a low-birth-weight infant, and a wide range of health problems for a newborn, or even infant death.
- If the disease spreads to a person's nervous system, he or she can have headaches, a stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance or convulsions.
- In extreme cases, death can occur.
The recalled salads were distributed to retailers in Ohio and the following states: AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, NE, NM, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, SD, TN, TX, UT, WA, WY, and British Columbia, according to Reser's.
The salads are in plastic containers with specific use by dates that vary by product and are detailed in the graph below. They also contain the #10 at the end of the line of printing, according to Reser's.
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Reser's urges people not to consume these products and states that they may take them back to the store for a refund or discard them.
For more information, Reser's invites people to call Reser's Fine Foods Consumer Hotline 1 (888) 257-7913 or to visit the Reser website or the FDA website.
