Many people are concerned due to a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak in the United States and Canada related to recalled Dole packaged salads. The outbreak has sickened more than 12 people in the US and five people in Canada. The US-sickened people have been hospitalized, and a person in Michigan has died.

In case you have bought Dole salads, here’s what you can do. First of all, check your refrigerator for the recalled products. You can identify the salads by the letter ‘A’ at the starting of the manufacturing code present on the package. The code is mentioned under the ‘enjoy by’ date.

The salads that have been recalled all belonged to the Dole processing facility in Springfield, Ohio. So far there is no proof to suggest whether the packaged salads produced at other Dole facilities are related to illness or not.

The salads were sold under the names, including Simple Truth, Marketside, Dole, Fresh Selections, The Little Salad Bar, and President’s Choice. The states where in the recalled salads were being sole include Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, among others. In Canada, the salads were sold in New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario.

The people who have got sick due to the outbreak in the United States lived in New Jersey, New York, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. In those patients, the dates of Listeria specimen collection range from July 5, 2015 to December 23, 2015.

The outbreak has been on since long. And the bacteria-caused- illness listeriosis can take nearly 70 days to show up after first exposure, which complicates the investigation.

The women who are expecting a baby and have consumed the recalled salads could think about giving a visit to their physicians regarding the outbreak and recall. For pregnant women, Listeriosis is very dangerous, and can result in miscarriage and stillbirth.