Happy Apple, a Missouri-based food firm, has recalled its caramel apples over possible contamination with listeria monocytogenes.
Listeria can cause a bacterial infection called Listeriosis in humans, which can cause fever, muscle ache, headache, convulsion and confusion, which is preceded with diarrhea. Listeria infection can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in elderly people, young children, pregnant women and those with weak immune systems. Listeria infection in pregnant women may also result in stillbirths and miscarriages.
Happy Apple has recalled its caramel apples, which has the best use by date between Aug. 25 and Nov. 23 of this year. The recall has been published on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) website.
"We have been working with the Food and Drug Administration [FDA] in their investigation of the current outbreak of Listeriosis which has been associated with caramel apples. We recently received notice from Bidart Brothers, one of our apple suppliers to our California facility that there may be a connection between this outbreak and the apples that they supplied to that facility," per the Happy Apple recall statement on FDA's website.
The caramel apples produced by Happy Apple are available in eight packs, four packs, three packs and single pack. All the packaging has the best before date label at the front.
The recall comes after at least three people died after consuming contaminated caramel apples. About 29 illnesses in 10 states across the country have been linked to the latest listeria outbreak.
Shirlee Jean Frey, who died on Dec. 2 this year, became ill following the consumption of caramel apples, which she had bought from Safeway in Felton. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that the 81-year-old Frey fell sick with the same strains of listeria that were found in apples that infected 28 other people. Frey's family is now suing Safeway, which has already taken off the caramel apples off from its shelves.
Health officials are trying to establish the precise source of the listeria infection. Although Happy Apple revealed that the recalled caramel apples were no longer available at store, the FDA has urged people to dispose any pre-packaged caramel apple they have at home.
Happy Apple's caramel apples were available via various stores across many American states.
In September this year, Foster Farms also recalled almost 40,000 pounds of Chicken Breast Grilled Strips over listeria scare.
