The 2016 Dole salad recall is based on Listeriosis, more commonly known as Listeria. However, it seems that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been receiving Listeria reports for a while.

Dole is a widely-known salad brand. In the vegetable world, its recognition can be approximately coined as the Coca-Cola of salads, as far as branding is concerned. However, just as Coke has sub-brands that are less-known to be affiliated with the company, Dole holds a similar structure.

According to the CDC, the Dole salad recall targets all salads and products constructed and packaged by Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc.’s Springfield, Ohio, facility. So, although your salad doesn’t have “Dole” front-and-center, it could still be a Dole product.

**RECALL ALERT** Dole and President’s Choice salad kits and lettuce mixes. Details: https://t.co/RbL0pnMhN5 pic.twitter.com/aD8K83xWhM — CBC Marketplace (@cbcmarketplace) January 23, 2016

The CDC named the list of sub-brands that all Dole Fresh Vegetable’s processing, as follows:

Dole

Fresh Selections

Simple Truth

Marketside

President’s Choice

The Little Salad Bar

As far as the Dole-Listeria recall is concerned, the CDC reports that it has received complaints and reports about such life-threatening products about its Dole salads since Summer, 2015. You can tell if the products came from the contaminated facility by the product code, which is located at the top-right corner of the bag. The agency reports that the Dole facility can be identified by an “A” at the beginning of the code.

*CDC ALERT** Recall: Dole Salads with product code beginning with letter “A” in upper right-hand corner of package pic.twitter.com/mtzNRkVrX8 — West Essex NOW (@WestEssexNOW) January 23, 2016

Since this has been happening for a while, you may not have ingested the salad recently and could still fall victim under the recall specifications. The prevention agency states that the Listeria incubation period can be anywhere from several days to two months after eating the contaminated products.

Dole salad packages pulled in Ontario over Listeria outbreak https://t.co/iZLg5jGfhj pic.twitter.com/TxZimHiP7H — Metro Toronto (@metrotoronto) January 22, 2016

Likewise, the salad recall targets a wide array of age groups, from children to elderly adults. Statistically, 66 percent of infected patients are females, says the recall source.

Nonetheless, as a well-balanced food regimen, most American families include Dole brand salad in their meals, at least once a week. And even so, certain family members can be at greater risk of Listeriosis than others — such as pregnant women and newborns, elderly adults over the age of 65, and individuals with already-compromised immune systems.

#RECALL ALERT: Listeria linked to Dole salad kills 1 in Michigan, sicken others – https://t.co/Azoj0qsCLY pic.twitter.com/X1CRfXPqSg — WOOD TV8 (@WOODTV) January 22, 2016

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also notes as follows.

“Five (100 percent) of the five ill people who were asked about packaged salad reported eating packaged salad in the month before becoming ill. Two (100 percent) of two ill people who specified a brand of packaged salad reported eating various varieties of Dole brand packaged salads. “The Ohio Department of Agriculture collected a Dole brand Field Greens packaged salad from a retail location and isolated Listeria. Laboratory tests showed that the Listeria isolate from the packaged salad was highly related genetically to isolates from ill people. This packaged salad was produced at the Springfield, Ohio Dole processing facility.”

On January 21, Dole contacted the prevention agency and announced that it had ceased operation at the Springfield, Ohio, location. Moreover, Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. mentioned that it was going to pull current salads off the market that from that particular facility. However, that withdrawal will only be for products which were processed at the contaminated facility — not the others.

If you find that your family has one of the dangerous products, recall warnings suggest that you should immediately dispose of the contaminated food. It’s advised that you throw it away to prevent others from eating it and possibly contracting Listeria as well.

Also, the CDC advises that you wash — with hot water and soap — your refrigerator’s interior thereafter. One may go a step further and disinfect it. Likewise, the source says that you should sterilize any cutting boards, utensils, or dishes you’ve used to prepare the contaminated salad products.

As of January 21, six states reported Dole salad listeria cases. These states are listed as follows:

Indiana – 1

Massachusetts – 1

Michigan – 4

New York – 4

New Jersey – 1

Pennsylvania – 1

All in all, what do you think about the Dole salad recall? Now that you know this information, have you eaten a salad lately? Was it from any of the Dole sub-brands? Feel free to comment and share this article with your friends. You might save a life.

[Photo by Matthew Mead/AP Images]