Federal officials are urging Americans not to eat any pre-packaged caramel-coated caramel apples, as a California company is recalling all of its product Thursday.
The California Department of Public Health put out a Christmas Day news release warned consumers to throw out Happy Valley Brand Caramel Apples “because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.” The company packs its fruit confections near Fresno and in Union, Missouri.
One person in California has been killed by listeriosis, a food poisoning linked to the caramel apples, and five others in the nation have died as well.
The Centers for Disease Control recommended that all prepackaged caramel apples be discarded, until investigators can determine which brands are associated with the outbreak.
But the federal agency stressed that intact apples,as well as applesauce and apple juice, “do not appear to be associated with this outbreak.”
Listeriosis usually just causes intestinal sickness and fever for healthy persons. But it can kill persons with diminished resistance systems, and can cause miscarriage or stillbirth.
