Dole Under US Fed Probe After Deadly Listeria Outbreak

02 May 2016 --- The US Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into Dole Food over a listeria outbreak linked to four deaths in the US and Canada and multiple other illnesses. Dole Food said on Friday the US Department of Justice was investigating a deadly Listeria monocytogenes outbreak linked to packaged salad products from its processing plant in Springfield, Ohio.

The company said that it was cooperating with the investigation. The produce company in January stopped production at its Ohio facility and voluntarily removed products from stores in 23 US states and three Canadian provinces after salads it produced were tied to fatal illnesses. 

Separately, a government report reviewed by The Wall Street Journal showed that more than a year before Dole withdrew its packaged salads from grocery stores, the company had evidence of potentially dangerous bacteria in its Ohio salad plant.

In a statement, the company reported: “At Dole, the safety of the foods we provide to our consumers, and the safety of our employees, are part of the fabric of our company. That’s why we’re concerned about the recent stories in some publications about the FDA’s observation reports.”

“Those FDA reports deal with issues at our plant that we have corrected. We have been working in collaboration with the FDA and other authorities to implement ongoing improved testing, sanitation and procedure enhancements, which have resulted in the recent reopening of our Springfield salad plant.”

“We understand that these recent news reports may raise questions among our consumers and customers. They should be assured, however, that we have worked in conjunction with the FDA to address those observations and ensure that Dole products are safe.”

“Dole has recently been contacted by the Department of Justice in connection with its own investigation, and we will be similarly cooperating with the DOJ to answer questions and address any concerns.”

The consumer group CSPI claimed: “Dole’s failure to stop shipping products and clean up its plant before the outbreak showed a total disregard for its customers’ health. Moreover, its press releases afterwards in recalling the bagged salads showed more concern over the company’s public image than for the people who buy its products. Dole’s customers deserved better than the company’s self-serving announcement.” 

“The Food and Drug Administration should stop letting companies write their own recall notices and instead implement the recall notification system called for in FSMA. That system would require the FDA – not self-interested companies – to prepare recall notices that grocery stores must display for 14 days. Unfortunately, based on the agency’s actions to date, the FDA hasn’t done much to implement those recall provisions, and doesn’t appear to take informing consumers much more seriously than Dole did.”