This week, the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention introduced an expanded recall of dairy merchandise and different meals which will have been contaminated with the micro organism Listeria monocytogenes.
The recalled products — all with components manufactured by the California-based Rizo López Foods — embrace cheese, yogurt, bitter cream, salad dressings and kits and different meals that use Rizo López’s merchandise. They’ve been bought beneath many model names and by many supermarkets, together with Dealer Joe’s, Entire Foods Market and Marketside.
Most individuals who ingest listeria don’t get very sick, in the event that they develop signs in any respect. However sure high-risk people can fall critically unwell. Roughly 1,600 people in the USA develop severe listeria infections, generally known as listeriosis, yearly — and about 260 of these infections are deadly, mentioned Laura Gieraltowski, an epidemiologist with the C.D.C.’s outbreak response and prevention department.
Within the present outbreak, there have been 26 confirmed instances throughout 11 states, together with 23 hospitalizations and two deaths.
Right here’s what you must find out about listeria to remain secure.
How does listeria find yourself in meals?
Listeria micro organism are naturally discovered within the soil, which implies in addition they find yourself on or inside issues that come into contact with the soil, comparable to crops and animals.
“We discover it just about all over the place in nature after we search for it,” mentioned Catherine Donnelly, an emeritus professor on the College of Vermont who has studied listeria for many years.