Recall for broccoli sold at Walmart in 20 states upgraded to highest risk level: FDA
(NEXSTAR) – The Food and Drug Administration has upgraded its classification of a broccoli recall initially reported in late December, labeling it as “Class I” — the agency’s most serious recall category.
Braga Fresh, of Salinas, California, had initially issued an “advisory” for a specific lot of Marketside Broccoli Florets in late December, after Health and Human Services workers discovered Listeria monocytogenes in “multiple samples” from a Texas Walmart.
The broccoli had been distributed to 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.
No illnesses had been reported at the time of the initial advisory. Consumers were advised to throw away the potentially affected product and contact Braga Fresh with any other concerns.
In late January, however, the FDA upgraded the recall to a Class I, the FDA’s website shows.
Class I, the FDA says, involve “a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”
A representative for the FDA was not immediately available to confirm if there were still no reports of adverse reactions. The agency’s website indicated the recall is still “ongoing.”
According to the update, the broccoli florets at the center of the recall — as well as the states where they were distributed — are the same described in the previous advisory: 12-ounce packages of Marketside Broccoli Florets with a best-by date of Dec. 10, 2024, and a lot code reading BFFG327A6.
Listeriosis, an infection caused by foodborne listeria monocytogenes bacteria, affects roughly 1,600 people each year, around 260 of whom die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Those at the highest risk are pregnant women, newborns, young children, those over 65 and those with weakened immune systems. Pregnant woman are also 10 times more likely to contract listeria infection, and pregnant Hispanic women are roughly 24 times more likely. In pregnant women, listeria infection can cause miscarriages, stillbirths or preterm labor.
Symptoms of listeria infection include fever and diarrhea, along with headache, stiff neck, nausea, loss of balance, abdominal pain, confusion and convulsions, according to the CDC and FDA. Pregnant women, however, typically only experience flu-like symptoms and fever, the CDC says.
