National recall of peaches, plums and nectarines linked to deadly listeria outbreak

Peaches, plums and nectarines distributed by HMC Farms and sold nationwide as recently as last week were recalled due to a listeria outbreak that resulted in 11 illnesses, including one death and 10 hospitalizations. federal safety regulators announced Monday.

“Investigators are working to determine whether other fruits or products made from this fruit may be contaminated,” the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a food safety alert.

HMC Farms, based in Kingsburg, California, is recalling peaches, plums and nectarines sold between May 1 and November 15 of this year as well as during the same period in 2022, the company announced in an advisory released Friday by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA discovered listeria while testing a sample of peaches from HMC Farms in late October, the CDC said.

Sold in the United States by retailers such as Walmart and Sam’s Clubs, the recalled fruit may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism that can cause serious and even fatal infections.

As of November 17, people with the listeria outbreak resided in seven states: California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan and Ohio, according to the CDC. One person died in California and another became ill while pregnant and gave birth prematurely, the agency noted.

Listeria infections can cause serious illness and even death in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems, according to the CDC. Healthy people may experience symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, and stomach pain. The organism can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths.

The recalled fruits were sold in 2-pound bags marked “HMC Farms” or “Signature Farms,” or as individual fruits bearing a “USA-EU” code and number as follows:

• Yellow peach: 4044 or 4038
• Ice fishing: 4401
• Yellow nectarine: 4036 or 4378
• White nectarine: 3035
• Red plum: 4042
• Black plum: 4040

The recall does not include organically grown fruit, the company and the CDC noted (see images of all recalled fruit products here).

Consumers should check their homes, including their freezers, for recalled fruit and throw them away, the agency said. Anyone with questions can call the company at (844) 483-3867, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time.