'Expired' Caesar Salad Kit Recalled Due To E. Coli Risks

Fresh Express is recalling a "limited quantity" of its salad kits that are already past their use-by date because they may be contaminated with E. coli STEC 026.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted a company announcement from Fresh Express voluntarily recalling the expired packs of its 10.5-oz Fresh Express Kit Caesar Supreme with the use-by date of Nov. 8, which means they are currently over a week past their use-by date. The products are being recalled due to the possibility that they're contaminated with E. coli.

As stated in the company announcement, there was an "isolated incident" wherein a randomly selected pack of the product turned out to be positive for E. coli STEC 026. As a result, the company is recalling the product "out of an abundance of caution" just in case some people or stores still have them.

The affected items have the Product Code S296 and the UPC Code 0 7127930104 4 on the packs. The company announcement noted that they were distributed primarily in the western and southwestern states including Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Colorado, Texas and Washington.

The full list of states where the affected product may have been distributed is available on the FDA website.

Anyone who may still have the product at home is being advised not to eat it and discard it instead. It's also possible to obtain refunds from the place of purchase.

Questions regarding the recall may be raised with the Fresh Express Consumer Response Center at (800)242-5472.

As of the Nov. 17 company announcement, there have been no reports of illnesses or consumer complaints related to the recall, the company announcement said.

E. Coli STEC 026

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), E. coli normally live in people's and animals' intestines. Although they are typically harmless, some strains such as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) can cause illnesses.

The STEC pathotype is commonly associated with food-borne outbreaks, with people typically developing an illness several days after consuming a contaminated product, the CDC explained.

In the case of the current recall, it was E. coli STEC 026 that was detected in the randomly selected pack. E. coli STEC 026 can cause watery or bloody diarrhea, vomiting and severe abdominal cramps. Although it typically produces symptoms similar to the more common E. coli O157:H7, STEC 026 is less likely to result in kidney problems, the CDC pointed out.

To prevent STEC infections, the CDC recommends standard food safety practices including proper handwashing, cooking meat thoroughly, preventing cross-contamination in food preparation areas and avoiding raw milk and other unpasteurized products. It's also important to avoid swallowing water when swimming in pools, lakes, ponds or streams.