Horton Fruit recalls bagged spinach products for Listeria contamination

BY NEWS DESK

The family-owned Horton Fruit Company, based in Louisville, is recalling a trio of fresh spinach products for possible Listeria contamination.

Recalled products include its 10 and 2.5 oz. bags of Fresh Curly Leaf PEAK brand spinach and a 10 oz Harris Teeter Farmer’s Market ready to eat leaf brand spinach.

Horton distributed the recalled bags of spinach in West Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky and Illinois.

The contamination was discovered through assistance from a partner-supplier and Horton’s own investigation.  No information was available on the exact number of recalled bags. No illnesses have yet been associated with the recall.

Consumption of food contaminated with L. monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, a serious infection that primarily affects older adults, persons with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women and their newborns. Less commonly, persons outside these risk groups are affected.

Listeriosis can cause fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. An invasive infection spreads beyond the gastrointestinal tract. In pregnant women, the infection can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery or life-threatening infection of the newborn. In addition, serious and sometimes fatal infections in older adults and persons with weakened immune systems. Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics. Persons in the higher-risk categories who experience flu-like symptoms within two months after eating contaminated food should seek medical care and tell the health care provider about eating the contaminated food.

Horton Fruit operates multi-temp packing facilities in Louisville that it says are regularly audited for food safety. Horton facilities use approximately 205,000 square feet of space for ripening, processing, packing and shipping.

It supplier of fruit and vegetables to the leading retail and foodservice companies in the United States. Horton Fruit has been a re-packer of tomatoes and onions, and a processor of spinach, bananas, avocados, pineapples, and caramel apples.