Listeria Found in Lettuce, Too
Lettuce was from Oregon distributor, company says.
Sept. 30, 2011— -- Produce seller True Leaf Farms has recalled 90 cartons of chopped and bagged romaine lettuce because of potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination.
A random sample of romaine lettuce taken by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration tested positive for the bacteria.
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The lettuce was shipped on Sept. 12 and 13 by an Oregon distributor to at least two other states -- Washington and Idaho, a statement from the company said.
The affected produce has a "use by date" of Sept. 29 and a bag and box code of B256-46438-8.
Church Brothers -- the company that distributed the affected produce -- has posted sample images of the potentially tainted lettuce's packaging on its website.
Listeria can cause potentially fatal infections, particularly in immunocompromised or older patients. The bacteria has also been known to cause miscarriages and stillbirths.
The same pathogen is also responsible for a multi-state listeriosis outbreak caused by affected cantaloupe from a Colorado grower that has sickened 72 and killed 13.
Affected romaine lettuce should be destroyed immediately, the statement said, noting that no adverse events related to the recalled lettuce have so far been reported.