Contact our law firm about a lawsuit against Dole for listeriosis if you believe you are part of the outbreak associated with Dole salad products.
There is no excuse for selling food contaminated with deadly bacteria like Listeria monocytogenes. This pathogen invades the body and causes a severe infection called listeriosis that can result in sepsis, meningitis and wrongful death. Many of our our clients almost died, and we have represented families with wrongful death claims whose loved ones did not survive.
18 Reported Cases in Listeriosis Outbreak
To date, 18 people from 9 states have confirmed reports of illness: Connecticut (1), Indiana (1), Massachusetts (1), Michigan (4), Missouri (2), New Jersey (1), New York (5), Ohio (2), and Pennsylvania (1).
Listeria specimens were collected from ill people between July 5, 2015 and January 31, 2016. Whole genome sequencing was performed on clinical isolates from all ill people, and it shows that the isolates are highly related genetically. This means they were sickened by the same source, according to the CDC.
“Ill people range in age from 3 years to 83, and the median age is 66. Seventy-two percent of ill people are female. All 18 (100%) ill people were hospitalized, including one person from Michigan who died as a result of listeriosis. One of the illnesses reported was in a pregnant woman. Epidemiologic and laboratory evidence indicate that packaged salads produced at the Dole processing facility in Springfield, Ohio and sold under various brand names are the likely source of this outbreak“ (CDC).
The outbreak investigation began in September 2015, about 2 months after the first person was diagnosed with illness. The source of these illnesses wasn’t determined until January 2016, “when a laboratory result from a packaged salad collected in Ohio linked the illnesses to the Dole processing facility in Springfield, Ohio” (CDC).
Dole Salad Recall
On January 27, 2016, Dole voluntarily recalled all salad mixes produced in the Springfield, Ohio processing facility. The type of salad mixes produced at this facility were packaged in bags and plastic clamshell containers and can be identified by the letter “A” at the beginning of the manufacturing code on the package. The packaged salads produced in the Dole Springfield, Ohio, facility were sold under various brand names including:
- Dole
- Fresh Selections
- Simple Truth
- Marketside
- The Little Salad Bar
- President’s Choice
At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that packaged salads produced at other Dole processing facilities in the United States are linked to illness. Other Dole products, including fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and packaged salads from Dole’s other processing facilities (with product codes beginning with the letters “B” or “N”), are not part of this voluntary withdrawal.
Get a Free Case Review
Our listeriosis lawyers help clients throughout the United States hold food companies accountable for selling contaminated food. You can contact them for a free case review (click here).