Ballard's Farm Sausage, Inc. of Wayne, West Virginia, recalled its egg salad products on Oct. 18 after the N.C. Department of Agriculture found samples of the products tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. Now the company has added a number of additional products to the recall.
The recalled products are:
• Ballards 12 oz. Egg Salad;
• Food city 12 oz. Egg Salad;
• Valu Time 11 oz. Egg Salad;
• Ballard's Farm Amish Macaroni Salad in 24-ounce containers;
• Ballard's Farm Amish Sweet Slaw in 24-ounce containers;
• Ballard's Farm Cole Slaw in 12-ounce containers;
• Food City Cole Slaw in 12-ounce containers.
The products were distributed in 18 states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Tennessee, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana, Alabama, Delaware, Illinois and Florida.
The North Carolina Department of Agriculture notes the company has shut down its salad production line for an investigation. Consumers should return the products to the place of purchase for a full refund. At this time no illnesses have been reported in connection with the contamination.
The Food and Drug Administration says Listeria monocytogenes can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, especially in young children, frail or elderly people or others with weakened immune systems. For healthy individuals symptoms may include fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, but these typically are short-term in their effect. Listeria infection can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
For more information on the recall visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website at www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/ballard10_06.html.