An avocado grower and distributor in California announced the recall of avocados in six states, and it is a reminder to wash them.
Tests showed that some samples contained the bacteria listeria, which can cause the potentially deadly listeriosis illness.
Consumers can identify the products with the “Bravocado” sticker on conventional avocados, and “organic” and “California” on the stickers on the sticker. Mexican-grown avocados distributed by Henry are not subject to the recall and are safe to eat
The recall should serve as a reminder to wash avocados. Although people don’t eat the skin, when one uses a knife to cut through the skin, it can drag the Listeria bacteria through the avocado.
All avocados should be washed before eating, according to the FDA’s report last December, which also noted that the bacteria easily transfers from the skin into the inside via a knife. It also noted that the bacteria could also contaminate other food if one uses the same knife.
“Based on the test results, the FDA found the overall prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in the avocado pulp samples to be 0.24 percent and in the avocado skin samples to be 17.73 percent. The report addresses these findings in its various sections and aggregates the discussion of them in a dedicated appendix, in addition to providing breakdowns as described above,” the FDA report said.
It noted there are “practices associated with avocado consumption” that reduce contamination.
“Consumers commonly slice avocados and extract the fruit’s pulp prior to eating it, discarding the fruit’s peel as they would a banana peel or an orange rind. Consumers also typically eat avocados shortly after slicing the fruit as its pulp tends to brown quickly once exposed to oxygen. These practices generally limit the amount of the pathogen, if present, that consumers may be exposed to,” said the FDA.
“Even if you plan to cut the rind or peel off the produce before eating, it is still important to wash it first so dirt and bacteria aren’t transferred from the knife onto the fruit,” the agency wrote.
Regarding the Henry Avocado recall, no illnesses have been reported. Consumers should return them to where they bought them.
Listeria Symptoms
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), listeria can be fatal sometimes.Individuals who are particularly at risk of the bacteria are children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems.
Symptoms of listeriosis include a headache, high fever, diarrhea, nausea, and abdominal pain.
Henry Avocado said it is working with federal and California health officials to recall the avocados.