In the week of Easter, April 1- 9 2023, the salad company, Fresh Express, willingly put a recall on their chopped salads after the salads possessed a risk to the bacteria Listeria. 

The private-label salad kit company comes out of a facility in Morrow, Ga. south of Atlanta. The recall came under fire after the Georgia Department of Agriculture collected samples of the chopped salads and ultimately posed a health risk due to Listeria monocytogenes. 

The salads that tested positive for Listeria were the Fresh Express Caesar Chopped Kit, Publix Makoto Honey Ginger Salad Kit and Fresh Express Chipotle Cheddar Chopped Kit.   

Listeria is a pathogenic bacteria that causes the infection of listeriosis. It is known as a facultative anaerobic bacterium, which can survive in the presence or absence of oxygen. An infection of listeriosis can have a major impact on the health of children and the elderly, most likely due to their lowered immune systems. Other individuals may experience short-term symptoms like high fever, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. In pregnant women, Listeria can cause miscarriages and stillbirths. 

According to a study in 2021, Listeria in salads is very rare. Only 2% of packaged salads contain harmful bacteria. Listeria is most commonly found in unpasteurized or processed milk and cheese and even uncooked meats. 

The recalled salads were distributed to many retailing states including, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. All kits had a product code of GO75 with expiration dates of March 31 and April 2. 

Since the events, the chopped salads had been removed from all stores and the FDA encourages people to throw the salads away if already bought. 

Janis Parry, Junior, and a Publix employee explained that she coincidentally answered the phone call to remove the harmful chopped kits from the produce section altogether. 

Thankfully, the bacterial salads are out of the selves, and there has been no reported illness to date.