The precautionary advisory applies to “a single production lot of washed and ready-to-eat 4 in/1.6oz Marketside Celery Sticks with best if used by date 03/23/2025,” the company said.
Listeria can cause “serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems,” according to the statement. “Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria monocytogenes infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.”
The celery sticks were sold through Walmart stores and had the lot code P047650 printed on the front of the bag and UPC Code 6 81131 16151 0 on the back.
The risk of contamination was identified after the Georgia Department of Agriculture conducted a random sampling of the products from a store in the state, identifying several samples that returned positive for listeria.
Subsequently, Duda decided to voluntarily issue a precautionary advisory regarding the item.
While the product “is past its best if used by date and is no longer in stores, but consumers may have frozen the item for later use,” the company said. “Consumers who have this product in their possession, including in their freezer, should not consume and discard the product.”
The company said that they have so far not received any report of illness linked to the consumption of the food item.
The product was distributed to stores in Alabama, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming, according to the company announcement.
Foodborne Infections
According to a Feb. 13 report from the Public Interest Research Group, the United States saw 296 food recalls last year, a 5 percent drop from the previous year. “However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that food was safer,” the report stated.“The number of recalls indicates only the number of specific products that regulators or companies identified as risky in a given year, either because of testing, on-site inspections, illnesses or other reasons. An increase or decrease could point to more or fewer inspections or more or fewer people going to the doctor.”
Listeria was the second biggest reason for recalls, accounting for 65 cases or 22 percent of the total withdrawals. In 2022, listeria was responsible for 47 recalls.
Nearly 1,400 people became ill after consuming recalled foods, of which 98 percent were ill from just 13 outbreaks. Except for one outbreak, the remaining involved listeria, E. coli, or salmonella.
“Nearly everyone with listeriosis is hospitalized. The case-fatality rate is about 20 percent. Nearly 25 percent of pregnancy-associated cases result in fetal loss or death of the newborn,” CDC stated.
The biggest risk in such a situation is that the baby does not have a fully developed immune system and is thus not capable of fighting the infection.
The agency advises pregnant women who suspect they have symptoms of listeriosis to “seek medical care immediately and tell their health care provider what they ate.”
