Listeria Risk Leads To Recall Of Celery Sticks Sold At FL Walmart Stores

FLORIDA — Celery sticks sold in Florida Walmart stores have been recalled over a possible listeria contamination, according to a safety alert published by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.

Duda Farm Fresh Foods, Inc., based in California, is voluntarily issuing a precautionary advisory of a single production lot of a 1.6-ounce four-pack of washed and ready-to-eat Marketside Celery Sticks, the company said in the alert.

They were sold in stores in 28 states — Alabama, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming — as well as Washington, D.C.

So far, no illnesses have been reported in connection with these celery sticks, the company said.

The affected celery sticks have the UPC code “6 81131 16151 0” on the back of the bag and the lot code “P047650” on the front of the bag.

They also have a best-if-used-by date of March 23. While the product is past this expiration date and no longer in stores, consumers might still have them.

Those who have these items, including in their freezer, shouldn’t eat them and should throw them out, the company said.

The advisory doesn’t apply to other Marketside or Duda Farm Fresh Foods products.

The potential for contamination with Listeria monocytogenes was discovered after a random sampling by the Georgia Department of Agriculture from a Georgia store tested positive for it.

Listeria is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems, the company said.

While healthy people may suffer only short-term symptoms, such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, listeria infections can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.