Dole continued shipping salads for a year and a half after knowing plant had Listeria contamination
 
 
Dole company officials were aware a salad plant was contaminated with Listeria for a year and a half before they closed the facility, and did so only after the U.S. and Canada traced a deadly outbreak back to the plant, Food Safety News reports. The Listeria outbreak hospitalized 33 people in 2015 and early 2016; four of those patients died.
According to an inspection report, Dole swab-tested its Springfield salad plant in 2014 and found positive results for Listeria, but continued to ship salads to dozens of states as well as at least five Canadian provinces. Internal tests at Dole showed Listeria contamination five more times in 2014 and three times in 2015, but the plant was only shuttered in January 2016.
The plant later reopened on April 21. Company officials did not tell Food Safety News what precautions had been taken to prevent future contamination.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
 
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
- 
 Trump ends Asia trip with Xi meeting, nuke threat Trump ends Asia trip with Xi meeting, nuke threatSpeed Read Trump had spent the last six days in Asia 
- 
 How the clock change could impact your finances How the clock change could impact your financesThe winter months can be more expensive but there are ways to keep your costs down 
- 
 ‘This estrangement from death has beget euphemisms’ ‘This estrangement from death has beget euphemisms’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day 
- 
 Warner Bros. explores sale amid Paramount bids Warner Bros. explores sale amid Paramount bidsSpeed Read The media giant, home to HBO and DC Studios, has received interest from multiple buying parties 
- 
 Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial unease Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial uneaseSpeed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war 
- 
 Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B deal Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B dealspeed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’ 
- 
 New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth 
- 
 Trump said to seek government stake in Intel Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting 
- 
 US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China 
- 
 NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with DisneySpeed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network 
- 
 Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B dealSpeed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung 
