Federal regulators have upgraded a recall of frozen blueberries to Class I, warning that the products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that can cause serious illness or death.
The recall involves 55,689 pounds of individually quick-frozen blueberries produced by the Oregon Potato Company, a family-owned food processor based in Salem, Oregon. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the recall notice was originally issued on February 12 but was upgraded Tuesday to a Class I recall, the agency’s most serious classification.
The affected blueberries were distributed in:
The FDA clarified that the product was not sold directly to consumers in retail stores. Instead, it was distributed between businesses within the supply chain. The recall was initiated via email and remains ongoing.
The recall includes:
The FDA warned that exposure to Listeria monocytogenes “could cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”
Listeria infections can cause symptoms such as:
While healthy adults typically experience mild illness, the infection can be severe or fatal for:
Listeria is commonly transmitted through contaminated food during harvesting, processing, or manufacturing environments.
Authorities continue to monitor the situation, and businesses that received the affected products are advised to halt distribution and follow recall instructions immediately.