Outbreak of Listeria Infections Linked to Enoki Mushrooms

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ecall and Advice to Consumers, Retailers, Restaurants, and Food Service Operators
At A Glance

Enoki mushrooms are white, with long stems and small caps.

Recall Information
Advice to Consumers, Retailers, Restaurants, and Food Service Operators
  • Do not eat, serve, or sell any recalled enoki mushrooms from Guan’s Mushroom Co.external icon or Sun Hong Foods, Inc.external icon
    • Check your refrigerator for recalled enoki mushrooms. Return them to the purchase location or throw them away.
    • If you don’t know which company your enoki mushrooms are from, throw them away.
    • Do not eat any food made with recalled enoki mushrooms, even if some has already been eaten and no one became sick.
  • CDC advises that people who are more likely to get Listeria infections – pregnant women, adults age 65 or older, and people with weakened immune systems, such as people with cancer or on dialysis – avoid eating any enoki mushrooms from Korea (Republic of Korea), even if they are not part of the recalls, until we learn more about the source and distribution of the enoki mushrooms.
    • At home, check your refrigerator for any enoki mushrooms from Korea. If you have them or don’t know which country they are from, don’t eat them. Instead, throw them out and clean any surfaces and containers where they were stored.
    • When you buy, order, or eat out, check with stores and restaurants that they do not use enoki mushrooms from Korea. If they don’t know where their enoki mushrooms are from, don’t buy or order the product.
  • Wash and sanitize any surfaces and containers that may have come in contact with the recalled enoki mushrooms. Listeria can survive in refrigerated temperatures and can easily spread to other foods and surfaces.
    • Follow these five steps to clean your refrigerator.
    • Wash surfaces with hot, soapy water.
    • Wash containers with hot, soapy water or in the dishwasher.
    • FDA recommends that food processors, restaurants, and retailers who received recalled enoki mushrooms, use extra vigilance in cleaning and sanitizing any surfaces and containers that may have come in contact with these products, to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.
Latest Outbreak Information
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  • 36 people infected with the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes have been reported from 17 states.
    • Listeria was identified in ill people’s samples from November 23, 2016, to December 13, 2019.
    • 30 hospitalizations have been reported.  Four deaths have been reported from California, Hawaii, and New Jersey.
    • Six pregnancy-associated cases have been reported, of which two resulted in fetal loss.
  • Epidemiologic, traceback, and laboratory evidence indicates that enoki mushrooms labeled as “Product of Korea” are the likely source of this outbreak.

Source https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/enoki-mushrooms-03-20/index.html 

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