A New Jersey food company has recalled 97,272 pounds of salad products that contains meat or poultry because the lettuce might be contaminated with E. coli, federal health officials said.
Missa Bay, based in Swedesboro, Gloucester County, made the salad products between Oct. 14 and Oct. 16 and distributed it to stores in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and 19 other states, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Thursday.
The Maryland Department of Health learned of the problem first when it collected an unopened package of Ready Pac Bistro Chicken Raised Without Antibiotics Caesar Salad as part of a food-borne illness outbreak investigation. The lettuce tested positive for E. coli O157:H7.
The brand names for the salad bowls include Ready Pac, Bonduelle, Little Salad Bar, Marketside and Signature Cafe.
The FSIS put out a warning because consumers might have the salad in their refrigerators even though their use by dates have passed.
All recalled packages show the establishment number “EST. 18502B” inside the USDA mark of inspection. A full list of products affected can be found here.
Most people affected by STEC O157:H7 develop diarrhea (often bloody) and vomiting, officials said. People usually recover within a week though in rare cases develop a more severe infection.
Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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