Listeria Is At The Center Of Another Enoki Mushroom Recall

Listeria has certainly had its time in the limelight over the past few months. According to the Mayo Clinic, this bacteria usually sickens people after they eat contaminated meat or dairy and can prove deadly to those with a compromised immune system, the elderly, and infants. 

Freezing can't even kill off this pathogen, making it notably difficult to deal with. The bacteria recently made headlines after an outbreak was traced back to Dole and contaminated equipment used to produce its salads, per the CDC.

Listeria has reared its head once again and made news due to another enoki mushroom recall. The self-described "food safety law firm" Marler Clark reports that Taiwan Best Quality Enoki Natural Mushroom brand enoki mushrooms lie at the center of the recall and that Changhua County Mushrooms Production Cooperative produced the tainted fungi. 

So far, no one has fallen ill from this particular listeria outbreak, which experts identified after testing a package of store-bought mushrooms. These products, which primarily affect California, contain listeria that can be traced back to an unlikely source. While these products have notably hit the California market, some have also made their way to Texas (via Food Safety News).

According to Marler Clark, the "food safety law firm," experts traced the listeria outbreak back to Korea's Green Co. LTD. The Korean government corroborated the findings, in addition to confirming that listeria has affected U.S. citizens across 17 states so far. 

Enoki mushrooms haven't solely caused listeria-borne illness in folks, either. One finding found that "portobello, white, button, cremini, wood ear, maitake, and oyster" mushrooms have also spread this bacteria among the populace in recent days.

CTV News reports that listeria-infected enoki mushrooms have recently made it up the coastline and have appeared in Vancouver, Canada. That nation has also issued a concurrent recall, aimed at Golden Medal brand enoki mushrooms. 

In the meantime, avoid 5-ounce packages of enoki mushrooms with lot code #602105 and 7.5-ounce packages with lot code #6021052, per Food Safety News. Experts have also stressed the importance of cooking any and all mushrooms, and they even emphasized that cutlery used to prepare these fungi get separated in order to reduce cross-contamination. 

With any luck, this latest listeria outbreak should hopefully prove to be the last.