Illustrated By Sydney Hass.Update: Last night, the nationwide fruit recall was expanded again to include items at Whole Foods prepared with stone fruit.
Update: The nationwide stone-fruit recall has been expanded to include fruit sold by Ralphs and Food 4 Less, which have published a full list of food items that have been recalled. Meanwhile, Wegman Food Markets, Inc. issued a recall of baked goods that may have been prepared using Wawona-packed fruit.
If you shop at Trader Joe’s, Costco, or Walmart, we’ve got some bad news for you. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has just announced that Wawona Packing Company is recalling the peaches, plums, nectarines, and pluots that it packed between June 1 and July 12 and supplied to these three chains. Internal testing at Wawona’s facility in Cutler, CA revealed contamination by Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium that induces food poisoning in healthy individuals as well as possibly fatal infections in children, the elderly, and those with weak immune systems. Symptoms of listeria infection include stiffness, headache, fever, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.
After Wawona detected the contaminant, it shut down and sanitized its facility and launched a voluntary recall of its products — which had been shipped to retailers including Trader Joe’s, Costco, and the Walmart Corp. (the corporation that heads up Walmart and Sam’s Club stores). The recall is nationwide. So far, no connected listeriosis cases have been reported, and daily testing in the Wawona facility has not supplied any further evidence of contamination. If you have purchased any of the recalled fruits, throw them out immediately. If you bought them from (always friendly) Trader Joe's, you can return them to your nearest branch for a full refund.