Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc.
Outcome
Dole Fresh Vegetables recalled all packaged salads from its Bessemer City, North Carolina and Yuma, Arizona facilities in December 2021–January 2022 and agreed to voluntarily suspend operations at both facilities after Listeria monocytogenes was found on harvesting equipment; the multistate outbreak caused 18 illnesses in 13 states, 17 hospitalizations, and 3 deaths before being declared over in April 2022.
Details
Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. — Listeria Packaged Salad Outbreak, 3 Deaths (2022)
Outcome: Dole recalled all packaged salads from its Bessemer City, North Carolina and Yuma, Arizona facilities starting December 22, 2021, and voluntarily suspended production at both facilities after FDA investigation found Listeria monocytogenes on harvesting equipment; the outbreak caused 18 illnesses in 13 states, 17 hospitalizations, and 3 deaths (in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin) before CDC declared it over on April 4, 2022.
Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. is one of the largest packaged salad producers in the United States, operating large-scale processing facilities in Bessemer City, North Carolina and Yuma, Arizona. Beginning in December 2021, CDC identified a multistate cluster of Listeria monocytogenes infections with a matching genomic profile.
FDA's traceback investigation identified packaged salad products from Dole's Bessemer City and Yuma facilities as the common source. On December 22, 2021, Dole recalled all Dole-branded and private-label packaged salads from both facilities. On January 7, 2022, Dole expanded the recall to include products containing iceberg lettuce harvested by the contaminated harvesting equipment. FDA conducted Whole Genome Sequencing analysis and confirmed that Listeria found on the harvesting equipment matched the outbreak strain.
The source of contamination was identified as equipment used to harvest iceberg lettuce in the field — a harvesting-level food safety failure that contaminated multiple downstream products. Dole voluntarily suspended operations at both the Bessemer City and Yuma facilities while conducting remediation and deep sanitation. The median age of ill persons was 76 years, and 83% were female — indicating that elderly consumers were particularly represented in the case count. The outbreak was declared over April 4, 2022.
Primary Source: Outbreak Investigation of Listeria monocytogenes: Dole Packaged Salad (December 2021) | FDA
How Crucible Prevents This
The contaminated harvesting equipment discovery represents a supplier/farm- level food safety failure that affected two geographically separate production facilities. Crucible's supplier verification protocol — enforcing documented review of harvesting equipment sanitation records as a prerequisite for receiving product — would require Dole's buyers to confirm that contracted harvesting operations had current, verified equipment sanitation records before accepting raw lettuce lots. The outbreak affected iceberg lettuce harvested by specific contaminated equipment, meaning a targeted equipment- level tracking requirement would have isolated the contamination to specific lots before distribution.
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