Fruit company issues nationwide recall over listeria concerns.

Fruit company issues nationwide recall over listeria concerns.

The AP (7/23) reports that the Wawona Packing Co. of California is initiating a recall of specific lots of plums, peaches, nectarines, and pluots sold across the US due to a possible listeria contamination. In a statement, company president Brett Smittcamp said he is unaware of any illnesses at this point and the recall is voluntary, following consultation with the Food and Drug Administration. “By taking the precautionary step of recalling product, we will minimize even the slightest risk to public health,” said Smittcamp. Wawona Packing said the recalled fruit was distributed to chain’s including Trader Joe’s and Costco between June 1 and July 12.

Reuters (7/23) reports in its coverage that the FDA said the company is recalling roughly three dozen brands of packaged and bulk fruit across the country, which may come with the brand names Sweet 2 Eat, Harvest Sweet, or Wawona. According to Reuters, internal testing by Wawona led to the recall; the packing facilities where the contamination may have occurred were shut down and sanitized. The FDA added that subsequent testing has been negative.

In its coverage, the Los Angeles Times (7/23, Harris, 3.42M) “Daily Dish” blog reports that Ralphs, Food 4 Less, and Food Co. stores are also posting information about the recall, which includes “whole white and yellow peaches, white and yellow nectarines, plums and pluots.” Ralphs and Food 4 Less have also posted online lists of affected products, all of which were purchased between June 1 and July 20 and featured “sweet to eat” stickers.

CBS News (7/23, Firger, 5.21M) reports on its website that the recall affects both conventionally sold and organic fruits distributed to Sam’s Club, BJ’s Wholesale, Whole Foods, and Stop & Shop. Wegman’s, a supermarket chain on the East Coast, “recalled a number of baked goods” over concerns of contaminated fruit in those products.

CNN (7/23, Wilson, 12.15M) notes that Kroger and Walmart are also affected by the recall, and have posted online notifications about the issue on their respective websites.

Also covering the story are ABC World News (7/22, story 8, 0:25, Sawyer), the Boston Globe (7/22, Kotz, 1.58M), The Oregonian(7/23, Terry, 827K), the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (7/23, Laasby, 797K) “Public Investigator” blog, Alabama Live (7/23, Lord, 75K), theBillings (MT) Gazette (7/23, Cioffi, 174K), the Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard (7/23, Mulder, 789K), and the Huffington Post (7/22, Gates, 11.54M).

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