One of Georgia's most iconic exports, the Vidalia onion, is facing recalls this week after a producer warned customers that some of them could be contaminated with Listeria.
According to A&M Farms, located in Lyons, Georgia, the Little Bear brand of Vidalia sweet onions could be unsafe for consumption.
The batch was packaged between June 20 and June 23, and is marked with a Little Bear PLU sticker containing the number 4159.
States that received bulk shipments of these onions include Georgia, Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New York.
According to the official statement released by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, the onions were available for purchase on June 23 and June 24 at Wegmans stores in the Rochester area, Massachusetts, at the Erie West and Erie Peach Street Wegmans stores in Pennsylvania, as well as Publix stores in the state of Florida and in Georgia (Barrow, Clarke, DeKalb, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Jackson, Oconee and Walton counties).
The statement also reveals that there has yet to be any reported illness as a result of the recall, however, an internal testing company did detect Listeria on a single pack line.
"The health and safety of consumers are our top priorities here at A&M Farms. We are glad that most of the implicated product never reached stores, but we are focused intently on alerting consumers in those areas that did receive the onions. We stopped packing on the implicated line, and I am personally overseeing a full cleaning and sanitation of the equipment and an internal review of our processes," Aries Haygood, a co-owner A&M Farms said in a press release.
It is strongly advised to dispose of any Vidalia onions that could be possibly contaminated immediately, as Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections to vulnerable consumers.
