The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has upgraded a voluntary frozen blueberry recall to its most serious classification, warning that potential listeria contamination could pose life-threatening risks to vulnerable populations.
Oregon Potato Company, a family-owned business based in Salem, Oregon, initiated the recall on Feb. 12, covering 55,689 pounds of individually quick-frozen (IQF) blueberries produced by Willamette Valley Fruit Company. The FDA elevated the action to a Class I recall on Tuesday — its highest risk designation, reserved for situations where exposure to a product “could cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”
The blueberries were distributed through business-to-business supply chains and were not sold directly to consumers in retail stores. They reached customers across four U.S. states — Michigan, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin — as well as throughout Canada.
Oregon Potato Company has since told media that all of the affected fruit has been located and accounted for, and the company is working with its customers and the FDA on returning or destroying the product.
What products are affected
The recall covers two packaging types. The first includes 30-pound corrugated cases containing blueberries in polyethylene bags with the following lot numbers and expiration dates: lot 2055 B2, expiring July 23, 2027; and lots 2065 B1 and 2065 B3, both expiring July 24, 2027. The second packaging type consists of 1,400-pound industrial totes with polyethylene liners, bearing lot numbers 3305 A1 and 3305 B1, both expiring Nov. 25, 2027.
The listeria risk
Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium commonly found in soil, water and food-processing environments that can survive and grow even under refrigeration. It causes listeriosis, a potentially serious foodborne illness.
Mild cases can produce symptoms including fever, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea lasting up to three days. More severe, invasive forms of the illness can cause confusion, loss of balance and convulsions. While healthy adults rarely become seriously ill, the disease poses heightened dangers for pregnant women, newborns, older adults and individuals with weakened immune systems, for whom it can be fatal.
The FDA advises anyone experiencing symptoms to consult a healthcare provider immediately.
What businesses should do
Oregon Potato Company has notified affected business customers directly by email. Because the product was not sold at the retail level, individual consumers are unlikely to have purchased the recalled blueberries directly. The recall remains ongoing.
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