Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. has restarted limited production at its Springfield, OH processing plant that was linked to an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections earlier this year.
The company announced this week FDA, CDC and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency completed their investigations of the plant and declared the outbreak over.
“We’re grateful for the support of all our employees and the town of Springfield”, says Howard Roeder, president of Dole Fresh Vegetables. “Their commitment has been, and will always be, the cornerstone of the Dole Fresh Vegetables organization.”
In all, 19 people in nine states were infected with the bacterial illness beginning in July 2015. One death was reported in Michigan. Canadian officials also reported a number of illnesses across several provinces.
Through an investigation, health officials determined the likely source of the outbreak was packaged salads produced at the Ohio facility. As a result, Dole suspended all operations at the Springfield plant and recalled all Dole branded and private label packaged salads processed at the facility.