Due to a risk of contamination, Boston Salads & Provisions Co. has announced a voluntary recall of certain cole slaw products. The company has acknowledged that there is a potential for contamination by a rare organism known as Listeria monocytogenes, which can have severe if not fatal implications for young children, the elderly, and consumers with weak immune systems. In response, the company is recalling all of its five-pound, 10-pound, and 30-pound bulk containers, along with their one-pound retail containers, with sell by dates of November 9 and November 11, 2006.
Boston Salads sells their cole slaw under three brand names–Boston Salads & Provisions Co. Inc., Dietz and Watson Inc., and Hummel Brothers Inc.–in the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. At this point, there have been no reported illnesses related to the product recall. Healthy adults infected with Listeria usually face only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. However, Listeria infection can lead to miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
“As part of our continuous quality control checking system at all levels of manufacturing and distribution, possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes was identified,†says John A. Zofchak, president of Boston Salads & Provisions Co. Inc., in a press release posted by the Food and Drug Administration. “As a rapid response to this finding, we have immediately and voluntarily recalled all Cole Slaw salad from the marketplace.†The company has set up a telephone hotline for anyone seeking further information: 617-541-9046, ext. 14.
On September 7 of this year, the FDA had sent a strongly worded warning letter to Mr. Zofchak and Boston Salads, citing “insanitary conditions†in its seafood processing plant. The letter was sent following three FDA inspections in July and August. The letter stated that the FDA had found “serious violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation†and raised questions about the safety of its seafood salad and refrigerated clam chowder. It appears that these violations are not related to the current cole slaw recall.
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