E. coli: California produce company recalls salads sent to Hawaii twice in two months

HONOLULU—A California produce company is recalling lettuce sent to Hawaii for the second time in less than two months.

Today, July 15, Fresh Express, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chiquita Brands International, announced a voluntary recall of a specific selection of Fresh Express Romaine-based ready-to-eat salads with the expired use-by dates of July 9 through July 12 and an “S” in the product code because they’re possibility contaminated with E. coli. While they have been recalled from store shelves, the Department of Health warns that the salads may still be in people’s refrigerators.

The salad products were distributed in Hawaii, California, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, Washington, and Nevada. There are no reports of illness.

E. coli causes foodborne illness that is also called hemorrhagic colitis. Symptoms range from none to mild (nonbloody diarrhea, little or no fever) to severe (watery, then bloody diarrhea; severe abdominalcramps). Most people with mild symptoms recover without treatment in 5–10 days.

About two months earlier, on May 24, Fresh Express recalled the same kind of ready-to-eat salads sent to Hawaii because of a Salmonella scare. That recall was issued based on an isolated instance in which a single package of Fresh Express Hearts of Romaine Salad with a use-by date of May 15 was confirmed positive for Salmonella in a random sample test conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the company said.

Salmonella is an organism that may cause fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and possibly bloody diarrhea in healthy individuals. It can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

Consumers with any symptoms should consult their health care provider.