The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has elevated a nationwide recall of broccoli sold at Walmart to the highest risk level over potential listeria contamination. The recall, which was issued in late December, now stands at Class I - which is used in cases where there is a “reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”
FDA raises Walmart broccoli recall to highest level, warns could be deadly
Braga Fresh, of Salinas, California, first issued an “advisory” for 5,918 cases of washed and ready-to-eat 12-ounce Marketside Broccoli Florets after Listeria monocytogenes were discovered in “multiple samples” from a Walmart store in Texas. However, the recall was elevated to Class I on January 27. While no illnesses had been reported at the time of the initial advisory, the agency has warned against consumption of the recalled products.
The affected products bear a best-if-used-by date of December 10, 2024, UPC code: 6 81131 32884 5 on the back of the bag, and Lot Code: BFFG327A6 on the front. They were distributed to Walmart stores in 20 states: Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
While the products have reached an expiration date by now, the FDA and Braga Fresh explained, “This product is past its best if used by date and is no longer in stores, but consumers may have frozen the item for later use. Consumers who have this product in their freezers should not consume and discard the product,” People reported.
{{/usCountry}}While the products have reached an expiration date by now, the FDA and Braga Fresh explained, “This product is past its best if used by date and is no longer in stores, but consumers may have frozen the item for later use. Consumers who have this product in their freezers should not consume and discard the product,” People reported.
{{/usCountry}}Listeria monocytogenes can cause “serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems,” according to a press release. “Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria monocytogenes infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.”