Listeria Outbreak Linked to Stone Fruits Kills 1 and Hospitalizes 10

A Listeria outbreak has proven deadly, as one person has died and 10 were hospitalized after eating certain fruits that have been contaminated. The fruits are whole peaches, nectarines, and plums.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, The HMC Group Marketing Inc., which does business as HMC Farms, has voluntarily recalled these fruits after learning about their potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The CDC revealed that so far, 11 people have been reported as infected from seven states: California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, and Ohio. One of those people was a pregnant woman who went into preterm labor. One individual in California died, while the other 10 people were hospitalized.

The FDA reported that this organism can cause severe and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or older adults, and others with weakened immune systems. Symptoms of those with healthy immune systems include high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.

“There is nothing more important to us than providing safe, high-quality fruit to consumers. We never want anyone to become ill from eating fresh fruit,” Amy Philpott, a company spokesperson for HMC Farms, told NBC News. “The company is working tirelessly with the FDA to investigate how the contamination happened.”

The affected fruit was distributed nationwide and sold in retail stores as individual pieces of fruit bearing “USA-E-U” stickers or in bagged packages. The photos are located on the FDA website. Retail stores sold these items between May 1 and Nov. 15, 2022, and May 1 and Nov. 15, 2023.

The FDA says no organic fruit by the same company is being recalled, only conventionally grown fruit. This recall also does not include peaches, plums, and nectarines currently available for sale at retail stores.

Although the recalled fruit is no longer available in retail stores, consumers may have frozen the recalled fruit at home for later use. They are urged to check their freezers for the recalled fruit and to discard it if found.

The CDC believes the number of people who have been affected may be higher than the calculated number thus far. “This is because some people recover without medical care and are not tested for Listeria,” the CDC said. “In addition, recent illnesses may not yet be reported as it usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak.”

Further questions can be addressed by contacting the company’s consumer information desk at 844-483-3867, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.