FoodLogistics.com |

Monterey, CA: Dole Fresh Vegetables has recalled all of its packaged salad products that bear the label "Dole Hearts Delight" sold in the U.S. and Canada, after one randomly-screened sample in a Canadian grocery store contained E. coli O157:H7.

Dole Fresh Vegetables, which is a division of Dole Food Company Inc., has not received any reports of sickness, as a result of consumers eating the product, which is a ready-to-eat blend of romaine, green leaf and butter lettuce hearts.

"Our overriding concern is for consumer safety," says Eric Schwartz, president of Dole Fresh Vegetables. "We are working closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and several U.S. state health departments."

The product was sold in IL, IN, ME, MS, NY, OH, PA, TN, and neighboring U.S. states, in addition to Canada. The lettuce in the blend was grown in CA, CO and OH and processed at the Dole plant in Springfield, OH. Some 755 cases were distributed in the U.S., as well as 88 cases in Canada.

The recalled salad was sold in plastic bags of 227 grams in Canada and one-half pound in the U.S. and bore a production code of "A24924A" or "A24924B" stamped on the package.