On December 2, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a recall notice for vegetables of different brands. This is a measure associated with the Grimmway Farms recall in November. This time, the new listing comes from 4Earth Farms of Commerce, California, a distributor that sells packaged vegetable mixes to well-known grocery stores such as Walmart, Sprouts Farmers Market, Albert’s Organics, among others.
The voluntary recall began with 4Earth Farms’ own decision. This took place after it became aware that Grimmway Farms carrots, used in its line of mixed greens, were potentially contaminated with E. coli bacteria. This expansion came after other vegetables from the same brand were recalled as a precaution.
List of 4Earth farms’ recalled vegetables
- Organic vegetable mix, Wild Harvest brand, distributed to Albert Organic Products.
- Organic vegetable mix, Lado del mercado brand, distributed to Walmart.
- Vegetable mix, Lado del mercado brand, distributed to Walmart.
- Vegetable mix, Lado del mercado brand, distributed to Walmart.
- Medley stir-fry, Lado del Mercado brand, distributed to Walmart.
- Organic vegetable mix, 4Earth Farms brand, distributed to Ok Produce.
- Organic vegetable mix, Wild Harvest brand, distributed to Non-Financial Investment.
- Organic whole carrots, Grimmway brand, distributed to Kennedy Products.
- Vegetable mix, 4Earth Farms brand, distributed to Sprouts Farmers Market.
The list of recalled vegetables were distributed to different states. New Hampshire, Minnesota, Illinois, California, Florida, and Colorado are some of the places where 4Earth Farms products arrived. The distribution was made both in retail stores and to distributors. This is confirmed by the FDA on its official website.
Expiration date of these products
Consumers should not take the risk of buying these affected vegetables, which have expiration dates ranging from September 7 to November 2, 2024. In other words, most of them are more than 3 weeks past their expiration date. In view of this, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is encouraging consumers to check their refrigerators or freezers to see if they have any products from the aforementioned list.
If they do, it recommends discarding even the package, as any surface that may have touched the vegetables could be infected with E. coli. This bacterium is quite dangerous to health and has an incubation period that can vary from less than 24 hours to 10 days. Therefore, if you have consumed produce within that time frame, you should be on the lookout for symptoms such as stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea and high fever.
4Earth Farms claims that no illnesses have been reported from its products. So far, the broader Grimmway farms outbreak has been linked to 39 cases of illness. These include 15 hospitalizations and one fatality.
The importance of staying informed
In view of this situation, the company and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are encouraging consumers to be well-informed about the recall of these vegetables. With this, you will avoid consuming contaminated products, and you will be aware of important updates on this FDA notice.
To do so, they left a contact number (855-918-1706). Through this number, people will be able to communicate with the company’s representatives and clear all their doubts. The hours of operation are Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time.
