The FDA announced today another food recall.  Today’s is by NY Gourmet Salads, Inc., of Brooklyn NY, which is recalling 50 pounds of its 5 pound tubs of chick pea salad due to potential Listeria contamination.  NY Gourmet Salads had contacted their customers today and has retrieved 40 lbs of the distributed product. The Chick Pea Salad was distributed in the New York City area to wholesale distributors and retail food stores. The product is packaged in 5 lb. hard plastic containers with a white adhesive label and black lettering with "EXP. Date: 04/07/10".

This recall is the result of sampling of the Chick Pea Salad by the US Food and Drug Administration. A sample of the product revealed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes. As a precaution, the company is recalling all 5 lb. tubs of Chick Pea Salad bearing EXP Date 4/07/10. No other date codes are being recalled at this time, and there have been no illnesses to date.

Listeriosis is a serious infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium called Listeria monocytogenes. Although there are other types of Listeria, most cases of listeriosis are caused by Listeria monocytogenes. Listeria is found in soil and water. Vegetables can become contaminated from the soil or from manure used as fertilizer. Animals can carry the bacterium without appearing ill and can contaminate foods of animal origin, such as meats and dairy products. Listeria has been found in a variety of raw foods, such as uncooked meats and unpasteurized (raw) milk or foods made from unpasteurized milk. Listeria is killed by pasteurization and cooking; however, in certain ready-to-eat foods, like hot dogs and cold cuts from the deli counter, contamination may occur after cooking but before packaging.