Fresh Express recalls some of salad products

SALINAS, Calif. - Fresh Express is voluntarily recalling some of its salad products because of a possible health risk from Listeria monocytogenes.

The Salinas-base company is recalling 2,825 cases of its Veggie Lovers Salad. The recalled salad mix has a product code of I208 and use-by date of Aug. 10.

The salad is being pulled from shelves after one package tested positive for the bacterium in a sample test conducted by the Ohio Department of Agriculture. No illnesses have been reported, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.

The salad mix was distributed to 13 states with the potential for redistribution by customers to additional states.

According to the FDA and Fresh Express, the product was distributed to New York, Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Kansas, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The mix could then have been sent to Arkansas, Tennessee, West Virginia, Iowa, Minnesota, Virginia, Vermont, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Mississippi and the District of Columbia.

The recall announced Tuesday comes after Fresh Express pulled some of its salads last month because of possible E. coil contamination.

Fresh Express also recalled several types of its ready-to-eat salads in May after salmonella was found in a package tested by the FDA.

Fresh Express is a subsidiary of Cincinnati-based Chiquita Brands International Inc.

Listeria monocytogenes can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.