Recalled Fruit Linked to Potentially Deadly Outbreak Was Sent to Dozens of Large Retailers, FDA Warns

The bacteria listeria monocytogenes as seen in a file photo. Courtesy of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Peaches, plums, and nectarines recently recalled nationwide following an outbreak of listeria were sent out to multiple major retailers across the country, as well as internationally in Canada and Mexico, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

A public notice shared by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) earlier this month said the stone fruit had been linked to a multistate outbreak of listeria monocytogenes infections.

Epidemiologic and laboratory data showed that peaches, nectarines, and plums from HMC Farms or Signature Farms were potentially contaminated with listeria, which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems.

The outbreak has caused at least 11 illnesses in seven states so far: California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, and Ohio, according to the latest CDC data, with 10 hospitalizations and one death.

One pregnant woman who became ill went into early labor, the health agency said.

At the time, the health agency said the recall only pertained to conventionally grown fruit and not organic fruit, adding that the peaches, plums, and nectarines currently available for sale at retail stores across the United States are not part of the recall.

The health agency added that it was working with public health and regulatory officials in several states, as well as the FDA, to collect data and investigate the cause of the outbreak.

According to health officials, the fruit was sold in stores individually and in bags between May 1 and Nov. 15, 2022, and between May 1 and Nov. 15, 2023. Those stores include select Walmart stores and Sam’s Clubs.

However, in a further update on Nov. 29, the FDA said the items were also sold in Publix, Sprouts Farmers Market, and some Albertsons and Aldi stores across dozens of states and also distributed internationally in Canada and Mexico.

Recalled Fruit May Have Been Frozen

This includes at Albertsons subsidiaries such as ACME markets, Balducci’s Food Lovers Market, Carrs, Eagle, Haggen, Kings Food Markets, Lucky, Pavilions, Safeway, Shaw’s, Star Market, and Vons, officials said.

The items were also sold at Sprouts Farmers Market, officials stated.

Just some of the states in which the items were sold are: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.

While the recalled fruit can no longer be purchased in retail stores nationwide, the FDA warned of the possibility that consumers and other manufacturers may have frozen the fruit to be consumed or purchased at a later date.

“Additionally, the recalled fruit was sold to other manufacturers who may have frozen and/or relabeled the recalled fruit for resale under another brand,” the FDA said. “The firm has directly notified their customers who received the recalled product and this advisory will be updated as more information becomes available.”

In this photo illustration a cantaloupe is seen sliced open in Miami, Florida on Sept. 29, 2011. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Listeria Symptoms

The recalled fruit was sold in bags or as individual pieces of fruit with PLU stickers on the fruit labeled USA-E-U, with the following numbers: yellow peach: 4044 or 4038; white peach: 4401; yellow nectarine: 4036 or 4378; white nectarine: 3035; red plum: 4042; and black plum: 4040

Peaches or nectarines sold in Signature Farms-branded bags and labeled with 6359 printed on a white sticker on the bag were also part of the recall.

Listeria is a serious infection that can be caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium listeria monocytogenes, most commonly in improperly processed deli meats and unpasteurized milk products, according to the CDC.

Infection can lead to symptoms that typically begin within 24 hours and include high fever, headache, diarrhea, and nausea, although the severity of symptoms depends on the individual infected and which part of the body is affected.

It is most likely to sicken pregnant women and their newborns, adults aged 65 or older, and people with weakened immune systems, according to the CDC, and can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in those individuals.

In pregnant women, infection typically results in miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, or life-threatening infection of the newborn.

Around 1,600 people contract listeria each year, and about 260 die, according to the CDC.

The FDA is currently investigating another, separate recall of cantaloupe and products containing cantaloupe distributed between Oct. 18–26 in California, Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin, and sold in various retail supermarkets, owing to salmonella.

Some 43 illnesses were reported linked to pre-cut and whole cantaloupes.

As of Nov. 24, the CDC had reported 99 cases of illnesses from 32 states linked to that outbreak.