CDC Ends Frozen Vegetable Outbreak Investigation
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has ended its investigation into CRF Frozen Foods’ multistate outbreak. However, the agency warns that the outbreak itself may still continue because consumers may still have contaminated food items in their freezers and do not know about the recalls.
Alongside CDC officials, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was also investigating the multistate outbreak. Laboratory tests proved that frozen vegetables produced by Pasco, WA-based CRF Frozen Foods. The frozen items were sold under a number of brand names.
Overall, the CDC’s investigation found a total of nine people infected with the outbreak strains of Listeria monocytogenes in four states that resulted in three deaths and nine hospitalizations. It is important to note that two of the three deaths have not been officially linked to Listeria. The very first illness occurred in September 2013, but the others all occurred between January 2015 and May 2016. No product recall was announced until late April 2016, followed by an expanded recall in May 2016. In total, more than 350 consumer products sold under 42 separate brands were recalled, as well as at least 100 other products prepared by other companies that contained recalled ingredients from CRF Frozen Foods. Recalled items were sold nationwide and in Canada.
A complete list of the recalled frozen vegetables is available at FoodSafety.gov.
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