Health Officials Working to Protect Consumers against Recent Listeria Outbreak
The recent frozen food recall affecting CRF Frozen Food products distributed and sold throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico has presented a major problem for manufacturers, distributors and federal agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The Origin of the Listeria Outbreak
In addition to issuing a recall of contaminated food items, the company announced that the Washington plant where the Listeria outbreak likely originated has been closed while CRF Frozen Foods officials attempt to figure out the next step.
It is believed that the potentially contaminated food items were manufactured or processed as far back as May 2014. Moreover, a CRF Frozen Foods spokesperson confirmed that the Listeria contamination may go back even further than that.
The CDC and the FDA worked together to investigate the health issue and determined that a person got sick from Listeria after consuming contaminated food in 2013. Additionally, investigators learned that the Listeria bacterium in this person’s blood was “genetically similar to the Listeria tied to the recall.”
Protecting against Listeria Contamination
Now US food safety officials worry that consumers won’t necessarily check the dates on the frozen food packages in their freezers to ensure that they, and their loved ones, aren’t exposed to a potentially deadly Listeria contamination or other type of food poisoning. This is especially true for consumers who purchased CRF frozen food items several months ago. The fear among health officials is that these consumers will incorrectly assume that the recently announced frozen food recall only applies to items that were purchased within the past few weeks or so.
A CRF Frozen Foods spokesperson said that the company is asking consumers to be diligent when it comes to checking the labels on frozen food packages. Consumers are also being encouraged to go online and view an official recall list that has been posted on the company’s website.
For additional information, see the Yahoo.com article, “Frozen Food Recall Covers Hundreds of Items from Many Stores.”
If you or someone you love suffered an illness from consumption of a contaminated food item, you should talk to a qualified product liability attorney as soon as possible. The NJ personal injury and product liability lawyers at Drazin and Warshaw, P.C. have more than 70 years of combined experience handling defective product cases. Contact us now to schedule a free consultation about your case.
