A Popular Bagged Salad Kit Brand Just Recalled Products in 4 States

A pre-made salad can take the guesswork out of eating a healthy lunch, but over the weekend, one popular salad product sold in four states was been recalled over contamination concerns.

On October 26, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the Salinas, California-based company Fresh Express is calling back a select number of Gourmet Café Chicken Caesar Salad Bowls due to the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes). The affected products included “chicken items” from BrucePac, an outside supplier which recently announced its own recall of roughly 12 million pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) meat and poultry.

The contaminated salads were distributed in four states: California, Louisiana, Texas, and Washington. Though the recall notice did not state which specific retail outlets sold the affected caesar salad bowls, Fresh Express products are sold at grocers nationwide, including Walmart, Target, Price Chopper, Aldi, ShopRite, and more. The exact number of affected units was also not listed.

You can spot the recalled caesar salad items using identifying markers printed on the Fresh Express packaging. The affected salads are sold in 5.75 oz. containers, and bear the UPC code 071279565620 and the package codes S281, S282, S285, or S288. The “Best by” dates listed on the products are October 26, 2024, October 27, 2024, October 30, 2024, or November 2, 2024.

Fresh Express noted on its website that it has discontinued use of BrucePac’s chicken ingredients supplied by the impacted production facility. “We will not do so until the USDA has inspected and given its approval for the facility to operate,” the company wrote.

Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterial organism which is known to cause the food-borne illness Listeriosis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this condition affects 1,600 people and kills 260 annually. Children and infants, frail or elderly people, those with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women are at the greatest risk of serious or fatal infections.

“Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women,” the FDA’s recall notice warns.

The BrucePac recall, initiated on October 9, has affected a uniquely wide range of food companies and distributors, most of whom who have repackaged and resold the tainted products under various brand names. A 200-page document, most recently updated on October 23, provides the best overview of the retail brands affected by the BrucePac recall. A second document published on October 24 shows that school districts in at least 19 states and the District of Columbia also distributed the tainted meat.

If you have recently purchased the Gourmet Café Chicken Caesar Salad Bowls from Fresh Express or any other products that could contain BrucePac’s meats, you should discard them. Though the fresh vegetables included in the salad bowls in this particular recall were not the source of contamination, the FDA stresses that you should not eat any part of the salad.

For more information or to obtain a refund, consumers may contact the Fresh Express Consumer Response Center at (800) 242-5472 (8 am to 7 pm ET). If you believe you are experiencing adverse effects related to Listeriosis, contact your doctor or medical provider.

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