Dole brand Italian Blend salad is being pulled from store shelves because of possible Listeria contamination.

The salad, made by Dole Fresh Vegetables Inc., is sold in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick but may have also been sold in other provinces.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says the affected salad is sold in a 10-ounce bag with a best-before date of 14-MR-12.

Food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes may not look or smell spoiled but can still make you sick.There are no reported illnesses tied to eating this salad.Symptoms can include vomiting, nausea, persistent fever, muscle aches, severe headache and neck stiffness. Pregnant women, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk.

EXPANDED:

Dole Fresh Vegetables is voluntarily recalling a limited number of cases of bagged salad. The products being recalled are Dole Italian Blend (UPC 7143000819), Fresh Selections Italian Style Blend (UPC 1111091045), Little Salad Bar Italian Salad (UPC 4149811014) and Marketside Italian Style Salad (UPC 8113102780) coded A058201A or B, with Use-by date of March 12, 2014 due to a possible health risk from Listeria monocytogenes. Dole Fresh Vegetables is coordinating closely with regulatory officials. No illnesses have been reported in association with the recall.

The product code and Use-by date are in the upper right-hand corner of the package; the UPC code is on the back of the package, below the barcode. The salads were distributed in 15 U.S. states (Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia) and 3 Canadian provinces (New Brunswick, Ontario & Quebec).

This precautionary recall notification is being issued due one sample of Dole Italian salad which yielded a positive result for Listeria monocytogenes in a random sample test conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Although product is 1 day past its Use-By date and it is highly unlikely that any product is still available at retail, retailers should check their inventories and store shelves to confirm that none of the product is mistakenly present or available for purchase by consumers or in warehouse inventories. Dole Fresh Vegetables customer service representatives are already contacting retailers and are in the process of confirming that the recalled product is being removed from the stream of commerce.

Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause foodborne illness in a person who eats a food item contaminated with it. Symptoms of infection may include fever, muscle aches, gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea or diarrhea. The illness primarily impacts pregnant women and adults with weakened immune systems. Most healthy adults and children rarely become seriously ill.