Wawona Packing Company, based in the Central Valley of California, has voluntarily recalled white and yellow peaches, white and yellow nectarines and various plum varieties.
The whole fruits were packed between June 1 and July 12, and distributed to Trader Joe’s and Costco stores.
The Food and Drug Administration issued a statement on the matter:
“FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 19, 2014 – Wawona Packing Company of Cutler, Calif is voluntarily recalling certain lots of whole peaches (white and yellow), nectarines (white and yellow), plums and pluots packed between June 1, 2014 through July 12,2014 due to the potential of the products being contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Wawona Packing has notified retailers of the specific lots being recalled. No other products are impacted by this recall. No illnesses have been linked to this recall to date.”
Got a call from Costco about a recall on fruit I purchased.
I already ate it.
Yay.
— Dylan Hanson (@HandsomeHanson5) July 22, 2014
There's a recall on nectarines from Costco.. Good thing we ate them
— Nicole Dushkin (@nicoledushkie) July 22, 2014
AS I'm eating a delicious peach Costco calls to tell me peaches are recalled. Gawddammit. http://t.co/IgYtiUKTAK Trader Joe's too.
— ModernSauce (@ModernSauce) July 22, 2014
Listeria monocytogenes is the bacterium that causes the infection listeriosis, an illness which causes death in 20% to 30% of cases. Listeria is most dangerous to pregnant women, children and the elderly. If an infection progresses to listeric meningitis, mortality rate may reach 70%.
Here is a small scientific piece on listeria:
No listeriosis infections have been reported, and Brent Smittcamp, President of Wawona Packing Co., commented, “We are aware of no illnesses related to the consumption of these products. By taking the precautionary step of recalling product, we will minimize even the slightest risk to public health, and that is our priority.”
Costco, the members-only warehouse club based in Issaquah, Washington, has been having some food issues, as of late. Back in March, the company dumped $2.8 million worth of perfectly good peanut butter into a New Mexico landfill due to a previous salmonella scare. The makers of the peanut butter, Sunland Inc., had asked Costco to at least donate the peanut butter to food banks, but the big box retailer declined.
Image via Wikimedia Commons