Over the past weekend, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the seventh death from the 32 victims of multi-state Listeria monocytogenes outbreak. The cause of this disaster? Caramel apples.
Listeria is normally caused by contaminate raw meat, dairy products, vegetables, fruit and seafood. Symptoms include fever and muscle aches, often preceded by diarrhoea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. Most victims who are diagnosed with listeriosis have an invasive infection. This means that the bacteria spread from their intestines to their bloodstream or other body sites. Disease may occur as much as two months after eating contaminated food.
On the 6th of January, Bidart Bros. of Bakersfield, CA voluntarily recalled their Granny Smith and Gala apples after discovering from a test that their environment was contaminated by Listeria monocytogenes at the firm’s apple-packing facility.
As a precaution, consumers should not purchase or eat any of the recalled Granny Smith and Gala apples produced by Bidart Bros., and retailers should not sell or serve them. Consumers who are buying, or have recently bought, Granny Smith or Gala apples can ask their retailers if the apples came from Bidart Bros. If unable to determine whether the apples were supplied by Bidart Bros., consumers should throw the products away.
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