A brand of fresh broccoli sold at Walmart stores in 20 states is being recalled over listeria contamination, the Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday
Braga Fresh, a California-based company, issued a voluntary recall of washed and ready-to-eat 12-ounce bags of Marketside Broccoli Florets.
The FDA is urging consumers to throw out any bags of the florets that bear a “best if used by” date of Dec. 10, 2024.
The products being recalled also have a UPC code 6 81131 32884 5 on the back of the bag and Lot Code: BFFG327A6 on the front.
The broccoli florets were sold at Walmart locations in Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington state and Wyoming.
To date, nobody has been confirmed to have contracted listeria as a result of consuming the product.
Listeria contamination had potentially life-threatening effects, particularly for people at heightened risk such as pregnant women, newborns, older adults and those with compromised immune systems.
Others who contract listeria may suffer from symptoms such as fever, chills, muscle aches, nausea or diarrhea.
“The health and safety of our customers is always a top priority,” a Walmart spokesperson told The Post.
“While the expiration date for the potentially impacted Marketside Broccoli Florets has past and the product is no longer in stores, we encourage customers who may still have this product in their homes, such as stored in freezers, to not consume and to discard the product.”
The company rep added that “at this time, there have been no reported illnesses associated with this advisory, and we are working with the supplier to investigate.”
The Post has sought comment from Braga Fresh.
The recall is just the latest suspected case of bacterial contamination affecting the nation’s food supply.
In late November, TreeHouse Foods expanded its recall of frozen waffles and pancakes due to concerns about possible listeria contamination.
Just weeks earlier, Savencia Cheese USA recalled soft ripened cheese sold at Aldi and Market Basket due to fears of listeria contamination.
Boar’s Head, the maker of popular deli meats, had to shut down a large manufacturing facility in Virginia after unsanitary conditions there were blamed for a listeria outbreak that forced the company to recall millions of pounds of product.
In October, McDonald’s temporarily ceased the sale of its Quarter Pounder sandwiches in thousands of its restaurants across 10 states after regulators said that onions used in the burgers were the source of E. coli contamination.
At around the same time, an Oklahoma-based meat packer, BrucePac, recalled nearly 10 million pounds of ready-to-eat beef and poultry items due to concerns they were contaminated with listeria.
