Dole recalls bagged lettuce

SAN FRANCISCO – A division of Dole Food Co. issued an international recall of bagged salad Monday after a sample taken from a store in Canada tested positive for E. coli, the company said.

There have been no reports of illness, company officials said.

The voluntary recall affects all packages of Dole’s Hearts Delight salad mix sold in the United States and Canada with a “best if used by” date of Sept. 19, 2007, and a production code of “A24924A” or “A24924B,” Dole said.

The product was sold in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime Provinces in Canada and in Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and neighboring U.S. states starting the weekend before last, said Marty Ordman, a Dole spokesman.

The romaine, green leaf and butter lettuce hearts that went into the blend were grown in California, Colorado and Ohio, then processed at Dole’s plant in Springfield, Ohio on Sept. 6, according to Ordman.

Eighty-eight cases were distributed in Canada and 755 cases in the U.S., he said.

State and federal authorities ultimately identified a central California cattle ranch next to spinach fields belonging to one of Dole’s suppliers as being the source of the bacteria.

Food contaminated with this strain of E. coli may not look or smell spoiled but health officials say the bacteria can cause life-threatening illnesses.