Trader Joe's Recalls Some Veggies In Virginia For Listeria Risk

VIRGINIA — Green Giant products and other vegetables sold at Trader Joe's, Food Lion and other retailers have been recalled because they could be contaminated with listeria, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Virginia is among the states affected by the recall.

"The fresh vegetable products include packaged varieties of butternut squash, cauliflower, zucchini and a butternut squashed based veggie bowl," the FDA announcement says. The vegetables came from a Growers Express production facility in Maine.

No illnesses have been reported so far, according to the FDA. Most of the products affected by the recall have a "best if used by" date of June 26-29, 2019. A majority of the recalled products are sold under the Green Giant label. Other labels include Growers Express, Signature Farms and Trader Joe's. No canned or frozen Green Giant products are affected by the recall.

The vegetables were sold at a number of retailers across different states. The states impacted by the recall are Virginia, Alabama, Connecticut, D.C., Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont and Wisconsin.

Different products were sold at different retailers in the affected states. You can find a full list of the recalled vegetables in each state on the FDA's website.

In Virginia, Trader Joe's and Food Lion sold the veggies, according to the recall notice.

At Trader Joe's stores in both Virginia and Washington, D.C., the recalled product was 10.5 oz Trader Joe's butternut squash spirals.

• The SKU is BCN105106.
• The UPC number is 623391.
• The lot number is 190614-403565.
• The "best by" date is June 28, 2019.

At Food Lion, the 1-pound Cauliflower Crumbles "Fried Rice" Blend was recalled.

• The SKU is MXC101101.
• The UPC number is 605806000744.
• The lot number is 190612-403101.
• The "best by" date is June 28, 2019.

Consumers who purchased the affected products should not consume the vegetables, the FDA cautioned.

"The safety of our consumers is our first priority," Tom Byrne, President of Growers Express, said in a statement. "We self-reported the need for this recall to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and stopped production immediately after being notified of a single positive sample by the Massachusetts Department of Health. We are deep sanitizing the entire facility and our line equipment, as well as conducting continued testing on top of our usual battery of sanitation and quality and safety tests before resuming production."

Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and in those with weakened immune systems, the FDA says. Pregnant women are also at high risk as listeria can cause miscarriages and stillbirths, the agency says.

— By Feroze Dhanoa and Elizabeth Janney