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Broccoli packages sold at Walmart stores in 20 states have been recalled due to a listeria risk.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on December 31 that Braga Fresh is issuing a voluntary recall on one of its broccolis. The product is a ready-to-eat 12oz Marketside Broccoli Florets, and it was recalled “due to possibility of contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.”
As noted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), listeria is a “bacteria that can contaminate many foods,” with infections caused by eating food with “Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.” Although symptoms can vary, a listeria infection “can cause invasive illness and intestinal illness.”
The possible listeria contamination of Braga Fresh’s broccoli “was discovered during random sampling by Texas Health & Human Services from a Texas store location where one of multiple samples yielded a positive test result,” according to the FDA.
The recalled product was sold in Walmart stores, with UPC code 6 81131 32884 5 on the back of the bag and the Lot Code: BFFG327A6, on the front of the bag.
It also has a best-if-used-by date of December 10, 2024. The FDA notes that while the product is no longer being sold inside stores, consumers “may have frozen the item for later use.” Any consumers who have the product in their freezers should not eat it and discard it.
The 12-ounce bags of broccoli were sold at Walmart stores in 20 states: Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
According to the FDA, there haven’t been any reported illnesses connected to the recalled broccoli.
The agency also noted in the release that Listeria monocytogenes “can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.” Meanwhile, people with healthier immune systems may “suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.”
Speaking to The Independent, a representative for Walmart said that customers can visit a Walmart store to get a refund on the recalled broccoli.
The beloved retailer also issued a statement about the recall, saying: “The health and safety of our customers is always a top priority. While the expiration date for the potentially impacted Marketside Broccoli Florets has past and the product is no longer in stores, we encourage customers who may still have this product in their homes, such as stored in freezers, to not consume and to discard the product. At this time, there have been no reported illnesses associated with this advisory, and we are working with the supplier to investigate.”
2024 saw an unexplained rise in food recalls. Last week, Gardners Candies issued a nationwide recall on its 1.25-ounce packages of Cappuccino Meltaway Bars, since they may contain an undeclared amount of tree nuts, posing a “serious or life-threatening allergic reaction” to consumers with an allergy or severe sensitivity to tree nuts.
In December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a high-risk recall for approximately 7,485 pounds of raw Italian pork sausage products produced by Impero Foods & Meats, Inc., a Baltimore-based establishment.
The FSIS designated the recall as Class I, describing it as a “health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.”
Also last month, Frito-Lay recalled a “limited number” of Lay’s Classic Potato Chips because they “may contain undeclared milk,” which Frito-Lay learned “after being alerted through a consumer contact.” This poses the risk of a “serious or life-threatening allergic reaction” for customers with “an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk.”
