March 24 (UPI) — Henry Avocado Corporation announced a voluntary recall of California-grown whole avocados sold in bulk at retail stores due to potential contamination.
The San Diego-based company released a statement Saturday saying it issued the voluntary recall “out of an abundance of caution” after positive test results for listeria monocytogenes on environmental samples taken during a routine government inspection at its California packing facility.
“We are voluntarily recalling our products and taking every action possible to ensure the safety of consumers who eat our avocados,” Henry Avocado President Phil Henry said.
The company said no illnesses associated with the recall had been reported.
The company is also fully cooperating with federal and California health officials to facilitate an efficient and complete recall of the avocados.
The recalled California-grown conventional and organic avocados were packed at Henry Avocado’s packing facility in California and distributed in Arizona, California, Florida, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Wisconsin, the company said.
All shipments from the packing facility are subject to the recall, but avocados imported from Mexico and distributed by Henry Avocado are not being recalled and may continue to be sold and consumed.
“For conventional products purchased at retail, consumers can identify the recalled products by the ‘Bravocado’ stickers. Henry Avocado organic products do not carry the ‘Bravocado’ label on the sticker. Instead those products are labeled ‘organic’ and include ‘California’ on the sticker. Retailers can identify Henry Avocado organic products by the bar code on the stickers,” the company said.
Henry Avocado said it is contacting all affected customers to confirm the affected avocados are immediately removed from store shelves and urged customers who purchased any affected avocados to discard them or return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.
