Chris KogerEmployees at Missa Bay process apples for McDonald's at the company's Swedesboro, N.J., plant in this 2005 file photo. (UPDATED COVERAGE, Aug. 16) Apple slices provided to McDonald's and Burger King are included in a voluntary recall of almost 300,000 cases and another 296,000 individual packages of fresh-cut fruit, vegetable and sandwich products because of possible listeria contamination.
Missa Bay LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ready Pac Foods Inc., Swedesboro, N.J., initiated the recall late Aug. 10 after equipment at its processing facility was found to be contaminated with listeria.
No illnesses have been reported related to the recalled products, according to the notice, posted on the Food and Drug Administration’s website.
Calls to Missa Bay and Ready Pac were not immediately returned Aug. 13.
"Our No. 1 priority is to complete the recall as quickly as possible to reduce the risk to public health, said Tristan Simpson, Ready Pac marketing director. "We have initiated all actions to achieve this goal."
McDonald’s and Burger King issued statements indicating both chains immediately removed the recalled products from their restaurants.
“While we may be out of stock for a brief period, we are actively replenishing supply in our restaurants,” according to the McDonald's statement on the company’s website. “Any apples currently in our restaurants are not affected by this recall.”
Most of the recalled products contain sliced or diced apples, according to the notice on the FDA website. They have use-by dates of July 8 through Aug. 20. Twenty-nine different products are included.
In addition to apple slices for McDonald's and Burger King, products packed under the Wawa brand, Ready Pac label, Wegmans label and Hannaford label are included in the recall.
Some non-apple products, including Wawa baby carrots and red grapes are also included in the recall, but there’s no information regarding why they are included. The entire list of recalled products is in the FDA notice.
The products were shipped to retailers and foodservice operations in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
“Only the specific products identified in the list … are included in the recall. Retailers and foodservice operators should check their inventories and store shelves to confirm that none of the product is present or available for purchase by consumers or in warehouse inventories” according to the notice.
The recall notice says Ready Pac customer service representatives contacted retailers and are in the process of confirming that the recalled products are not available for sale. Customers with questions may contact Ready Pac directly at 800-800-4088, Ext. 2900.
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