California Lettuce Recall Includes 19 States, Canada In Listeria Scare (VIDEO)

Associated Press

SALINAS, Calif. -- A California farm that issued a voluntary lettuce recall over listeria contamination concerns says its notice has gone out to 19 states and Canada.

True Leaf Farms of Salinas initially announced a recall of 90 cartons of romaine lettuce shipped to Oregon, Idaho and Washington.

But the chief executive of Church Brothers, which sells and markets the farm's produce, clarified Saturday that the recall involves nearly 2,500 cartons.

CEO Steve Church says most cartons went to institutions such as restaurants and cafeterias, which were notified about the recall. He says only 90 cartons went to retail sales, and those were the ones mentioned in the initial announcement.

The company issued the recall after a random check by federal officials found a sample tested positive for listeria. No illnesses were reported.

UPDATE: According to Food Safety News, the states affected by the recall are are Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Vermont. FSN also includes this identification information for the affected lettuce mix: "The 2# bags have a 'use by date' of 9/29/11 and the bag and box code B256-46438-8."