Lettuce Recalled for Possible Listeria Contamination

Fresh Express Inc. is recalling a limited quantity of its 18 ounce Hearts of Romaine salad -- products that already expired their suggested use date -- for potential contamination with listeria monocytogenes.

The affected products have a suggested use date of Sept. 26, 2012.

Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says the product was distributed primarily in the Northeast and Midwest. Massachusetts is one of several states affected in the voluntary recall.

The FDA says Fresh Express is already contacting retailers to confirm the product was removed from inventories and store shelves by the original expiration date.

Anyone who has the salad in question in their refrigerator, should discard it. Questions can be directed to the Fresh Express Consumer Response Center at 800-242-5472 from 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.

The FDA says the precautionary recall was issued due to an isolated incident in which a sample of a single package of the salad contained listeria monocytogenes. It was discovered by the FDA's random sample testing program.

See the recalled product information below:

To read the full release, go to the U.S. FDA website.