Caramel apples (Photo : Reuters)
After the listeria outbreak days before Christmas that affected 11 states and infected 32 people, the Food and Drugs Administration has already traced the listeria infection from a batch of pre-packaged caramel apple distributed by the Bidart Brothers, specifically the Granny Smith and Gala apples.
According to the company's latest report, their last shipment of the Granny Smith and Gala apples was on Dec. 2, additionally different government agencies along with help from the company has already mobilized team in order to recall all the products that are still possibly infected in order to halt further contamination.
The fear of listeria outbreak has also reach Canada as it is also importing caramel apples produced by Bidart Brothers; currently its products are sold in Newfoundland, Labrador, Nova Scotia Ontario and Quebec. While most of the affected apples are sold under the brand names Granny's Best and Big B the Canadian government has decided to take drastic actions and recall all caramel apple products on the market as they might be infected, especially the ones that were not branded and are being sold in bulk.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency website posted a message saying, "Only apples exported by Bidart Bros. are affected by this recall. These products have been sold from cash and carry locations. If you are unsure as to whether products are included in this recall, contact the location where they were purchased.
The listeria outbreak last Dec 2014 has infected 32 people within 11 different states. Listeriosis, the disease brought upon by the bacteria can cause nausea, high fever, severe headache and stiffness of the neck. It also weakens the immune system and can cause serious harm especially to pregnant women, in fact 10 of the 32 people infected were pregnant women and reports added that one had a miscarriage due to the listeriosis infection.
