Food Recall: Hearts of Romaine Salad

Do you throw out food when its use-by date is past? If so, you have nothing to worry about with the voluntary recall of Hearts of Romaine salad distributed by Fresh Express Inc.

The limited quantity of 10-ounce bags of salad have an expired use-by date of Aug. 23 and a product code beginning with "G222," according to a release by the FDA. The recall from the FDA said this is a precaution due to a possible health risk form Listeria monocytogenes. But no illnesses are reported in association with the recall and no other Fresh Express products are being recalled.

However, if you still have this expired salad in you refrigerator, don't eat it, discard it. Consumers with questions may call the Fresh Express Consumer Response Center at 800-242-5472 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

The precautionary recall notification for the now-expired salad is being issued due to an isolated incident in which a sample of a single package of 10 oz. Hearts of Romaine salad yielded a positive result for Listeria monocytogenes as part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s random sample testing program. The UPC Code of 71279 26102 is located on the back of the package below the barcode. The 10-ounce Hearts of Romaine was distributed in limited quantities to predominantly eastern and southeastern states.

Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause foodborne illness in a person who eats a food item contaminated with it. Symptoms of infection may include fever, muscle aches, gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea or diarrhea. If it spreads to the nervous system symptoms may include headache, stiff neck or confusion. The illness primarily affects pregnant women and adults with weakened immune systems. Most healthy adults and children rarely become seriously ill.