UPDATED: Salad mix recalled in Canada

Published on 01/18/2010 03:59pm By Dawn Withers
The Packer

(UPDATED, Jan. 21): The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, is
advising the public to not eat Compliments-brand Italian blend salad mix
due to possible listeria contamination.

The notice, issued Jan. 15, is for Compliments-brand Italian blend sold
in 10-ounce packages with a UPC 68820 10093 and a best before date of
Jan. 18, according to a news release.

No illnesses have been reported.

Garfield Balsom, a CFIA food safety and recall specialist, said the
product was imported by retailer Sobeys Inc., Mississauga, Ontario,
which is voluntarily recalling the product, and but the name of Sobeys'
supplier is not being made public. 

In the past, River Ranch Fresh Foods LLC, Salinas, Calif., has supplied
Sobeys' Caesar, Low Fat Caesar, Garden Supreme, Oriental, Santa Fe,
Riviera, Harvest Romaine and Simply Romaine salads. In an e-mail, Kim
St. George, River Ranch's senior marketing manager, said after the
recall "company has enacted all of our response protocols, including
communication with our customers and we will share further information
as it comes forward."

St. George said the warning was issued based on a test of one bag
"indicating that the product may be contaminated with Listeria
monocytogenes."

A spokesperson for Sobeys was unavailable. 

The contamination was discovered during a random screening by CFIA of
imported produce, Balsom said, and any investigation into possible
causes of contamination will be done in the exporting country, the U.S.

The product was distributed to Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.