Listeria Fears Prompt Advisory on Broccoli Sold in Walmart Stores in 20 States

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California-based Braga Fresh issued a precautionary advisory asking people to avoid consuming broccoli potentially contaminated by listeria bacteria.

The advisory is applicable to a single lot of ready-to-eat, 12-ounce Marketside Broccoli Florets with a “best if used by” date of Dec. 10, 2024, said a Dec. 31 notice published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Although the item is no longer sold in stores, some customers may have kept the product frozen.

“Consumers who have this product in their freezers should not consume and discard the product,” the FDA said.

The items were sold in Walmart stores across 20 U.S. states—Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, with the lot code “BFFG327A6” stamped in front of the bags.

The advisory was issued after the company determined that the broccoli could be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. Listeria can “cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems,” the notice said.

“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,” it said.

The contamination risk was identified while the Texas Health & Human Services was randomly sampling items from a Walmart store. One of the samples tested positive for the bacteria.

A package of ready-to-eat, 12-ounce Marketside Broccoli Florets that is under recall. FDA

According to Braga Fresh, no illnesses so far have been linked to the product. Consumers with queries can contact the company at 877-456-7445.

Multiple listeria-related recalls have been issued this past month. On Dec. 12, New York-based New Age International withdrew 200-gram packs of “Daily Veggies Enoki Mushroom,” citing this reason. The mushrooms were sold nationwide in retail stores.

On Dec. 2, Georgia-based Baker Farms pulled mustard greens amid listeria concerns due to tests conducted by the Texas Department of State Health Services. The product was distributed in nine states.

Listeria in the United States

According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly one in 25,000 pregnant American women get infected with listeria every year.

“Listeria can spread to your baby during pregnancy [and] cause harm, even if you do not feel very sick. Sadly, one in four pregnant people who get this illness lose their pregnancy or their baby shortly after birth,” the CDC said.

Among older Americans, an estimated 1,600 people get sick with listeria annually, with more than half of all cases occurring in individuals aged 65 years and older.

“As you get older, your immune system has a harder time recognizing and getting rid of harmful germs, including listeria. You also have less stomach acid, which can help kill germs,” the agency said. “Older adults with listeria infection almost always have to be hospitalized. Sadly, one in six older adults with this infection die.”

The CDC is investigating a listeria outbreak linked to meat products. There have been 19 infections in this outbreak across eight states, including 17 hospitalizations and two deaths. The products recalled are ready-to-eat and poultry items with the “Yu Shang” brand.

According to the agency, symptoms typically show within two weeks after a person consumes food contaminated with the bacteria. For some, symptoms pop up the same day or even 10 weeks later.

The U.S. Food Safety Inspection Service recommends that people “wash hands for 20 seconds with soap and water before preparing and handling food.” The refrigerator must be kept sanitary by cleaning up “any spills or food left sitting on the shelves or walls of your refrigerator.”

“Clean and sanitize any surfaces, such as tabletops, that food may touch,” the agency said. “Consider using paper towels to clean kitchen surfaces. If you use cloth towels, wash them often in the hot cycle of a washing machine.”