Twelve Sick, One Dead, Due To Listeria Outbreak

By CHARLENE ARSENAULT (Patch Staff)

One death and 12 other illness outbreaks, including in Massachusetts, have been traced back to packaged salads produced at a Dole factory in Ohio.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 12 people in six states - Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Indiana, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania - had been affected by the illness. One person in Michigan died.

The product is sold under the names of Dole, Fresh Selections, Simple Truth, Marketside, The Little Salad Bar and President’s Choice

“Since September 2015, CDC has been collaborating with public health officials in several states and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate a multistate outbreak of Listeriamonocytogenesinfections (listeriosis),” said the CDC.

Dole stopped production of the salads at the Springfield, Ohio, plant, and while the CDC does not indicate a recall on the product, Dole told theBoston Herald that “its other facilities are not linked to the outbreak. The company said it is withdrawing the salads from sale in more than 20 states and three Canadian provinces.”

Listeria can be life-threatening, and can cause muscle aches, fever and gastrointestinal symptoms. It also can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature labor, and serious illness or death in newborn babies.