Products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria
Contact: Michael Schommer 651-201-6629
March 16, 2007 — /FDA News/ — St. Paul, MN — The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has issued an advisory for consumers to avoid eating selected lot codes of Coborn’s, Cash Wise and Midwest Pride potato salad sold at stores in Minnesota and six other states due to concerns that the product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.
The product in question was sold in two forms:
–Prepackaged 1 lb product containers carrying the lot number 7057018A sold under three labels, “Midwest Pride,” “Coborn’s,” and “Cash Wise.” The “Midwest Pride” product has an expiration date of April 2, 2007 and the “Coborn’s” and “Cash Wise” product has an expiration date of March 9, 2007.
–Deli-packed product sold under the lot codes of 7057018A and 7057026B from February 27, 2007 to March 16, 2007, in 89 stores in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and Nebraska. A full list of the stores is included with this release and is available on the MDA website at www.mda.state.mn.us.
There are no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of the product. DBC Foods manufactured the product, which was distributed to the stores and has issued a voluntary recall. DBC Foods is cooperating with MDA in the investigation, and advises consumers to return to the store of purchase any recalled product for a full refund.
According to MDA Dairy and Food Division Director Kevin Elfering, the contamination was first detected in a product sample collected during a routine store inspection. MDA investigators are now working to determine the source of the contamination.
Consumption of food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially serious disease marked by fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. Healthy people rarely contract listeriosis, but it can sometimes cause fatal infections in infants, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. Listeriosis can also lead to miscarriages and stillbirths in pregnant women.
Consumers who believe they may have become ill after eating the recalled product should contact their health care provider and the Minnesota Foodborne Illness Hotline toll free number at 1-877-366-3455. For more details about the withdrawn product, call DBC Food Safety Coordinator Kim Kockler at 320-203-6352. Media inquiries to DBC Foods can be referred to DBC Communications and Consumer Affairs Director Steve Gottwalt at 320-237-1217.