Dole Recall: Curly Leaf Parsley Pulled In 5 States Over E. Coli Concerns

Dole Fresh Vegetables has recalled specific cases of its Curly Leaf Parsley products because of E. coli concerns. Consumers who may have bought an affected product are being advised not to eat it and discard it instead.

The issue was first discovered during routine testing conducted by the Michigan Department of Agriculture, the company announcement posted on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) website noted. It's being issued as a "precautionary" measure after the random testing turned up with a positive result for non-O157 Shiga-toxin producing E. coli (STEC) on a "single sample."

No illnesses have been reported as of the recall notification, but STEC can cause a foodborne illness in people who eat food that's contaminated with it, the FDA said.

"As a whole, the non-O157 serogroups are less likely to cause severe illness than E. coli O157, though sometimes they can," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explained. "For example, E. coli O26 produces the same type of toxins that E. coli O157 produces, and causes a similar illness, though it is typically less likely to lead to kidney problems (called hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS)."

Though the symptoms, complications and duration of illness may be similar to those of E. coli, they can still vary from one person to another, the Minnesota Department of Health noted. What's more, while outbreaks of non-0157 STEC are said to be "rare," such infections are also "more complicated" to identify.

As for the current recall, it affects a "limited" number of the company's Curly Leaf Parsley products that were distributed to retailers, distributors and wholesale stores in Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Missouri. They came in 60-count and 30-count pack sizes and had the product code 0 07143 000310 3.

"Individual bunches of parsley purchased by consumers have a price look-up (PLU) number on binding twist-ties of 4899 and a UPC code of 0 3383 80330 0," the company announcement indicated.

The harvest dates of the affected products were Aug. 18 and 19. Photos of the label are available on the FDA website.

"Dole Fresh Vegetables is coordinating closely with regulatory officials in connection with the Recall," the company said. "No other Curly Leaf Parsley items are included in the Recall."