Two companies have announced on Monday that they are recalling spinach-containing frozen food products over fears that these may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes and possibly sicken individuals who consume them.
Amy's Kitchen, a natural and organic food brand, announced its voluntary recall of over 73,000 cases of certain food products following a recall notice from one of the company's suppliers of organic spinach that Amy's may have received spinach that was possibly tainted with listeria, which can cause serious and potentially deadly infections in young children, the elderly and those with weak immune systems.
"This recall is based on a recall notice from one of Amy's organic spinach suppliers that Amy's may have received organic spinach with the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes," the company said.
Listeria can cause fever, headache, nausea, stiffness, abdominal pain and diarrhea in healthy individuals but the infection may have more severe consequences such as miscarriage and stillbirths in pregnant women.
Amy's has not received any report of illness from the affected products that range from spinach pizza to tofu vegetable lasagna but decided to voluntarily make a recall as a preventive measure.
"Amy's Kitchen is not aware of any illness complaints to date related to the recalled products identified in Attachment A. Out of an abundance of caution, however, Amy's Kitchen is recalling these products based on the recall notice we received from our supplier," a statement on the FDA website reads.
Consumers who have purchased the affected products were advised to return them to receive an exchange or get a full refund. Stores that carry the company's products include Safeway, Lucky, Whole Foods and Albertson's. The full list of affected products is available on the FDA site.
Wegmans Food Markets also announced a recall which affects over 12,000 packages of Wegmans Organic Food You Feel Good About Just Picked Frozen Spinach in 12 oz packages which were sold between Jan. 27 and March 21 and have the following codes:
BEST USED BY JAN. 26 2017 50265
BEST USED BY FEB. 02 2017 50335
The recall is also prompted by possible contamination with Listeria.
"The product was sold in the frozen food department of the company's 85 stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts," FDA said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that about 1600 illnesses and 260 deaths are caused by listeria infections in the U.S. per year.
FDA | Flickr
