Dip Recalled Over Worrying Health Risk

A food company has recalled one of its dip products sold exclusively at Costco due to concerns over listeria.

Simply Fresh LLC. issued an alert over its Rojo's Black Bean 6 Layer Dip 2-20oz Club Pack. The company said the problem was a cheese ingredient imported from Rizo-López Foods, Inc., which has recalled dozens of products after a listeria outbreak led to two deaths and 23 people being hospitalized.

Listeria monocytogenes is a bacteria that can cause "severe and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems," according to the Simply Fresh dip recall listed on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website. The company's announcement stated that healthy individuals can suffer short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, but the infection can cause stillbirths or miscarriages in pregnant women.

Simply Fresh added: "To date, there are no harmful effects reported from our product."

The company also said the affected products were distributed to Costco stores in Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington, and Utah.

Newsweek has approached Simply Fresh for comment via social media and sent an email to its parent company Lakeview Farms out of hours. Rizo-López was contacted out of hours by email.

Consumers who bought the product with the following use-by dates are urged to dispose of them:

• February 6, 2024
• February 14, 2024
• February 16, 2024
• February 21, 2024
• February 23, 2024
• February 29, 2024
• March 2, 2024
• March 7, 2024
• March 9, 2024
• March 14, 2024
• March 21, 2024
• March 22, 2024

Incorrect product

The recall list on the FDA site previously referred to products of concern as "Benny T's Vesta Ghost."

The FDA told Newsweek the issue has since been resolved.

The FDA already says it "posts the company's announcement as a public service."

Use-by dates listed above were also included in a Newswire release with the correct product name.

North Carolina company Vesta Fiery Gourmet Foods, Inc., has, however, issued a recall on the following products: Benny T's Vesta Ghost; Benny T's Vesta Hot; Benny T's Vesta Reaper; Benny T's Vesta Scorpion and Benny T's Vesta Very Hot. Each product was 1.5 ounces and recalled over undeclared wheat.

No illnesses were reported.

The recall affected all products with a use-by date of up to and including December 2024.

Newsweek has approached Vesta Fiery Gourmet Foods for comment via email out of hours.

Rizo-López Foods and listeria

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said a listeria outbreak was previously investigated in 2017 and 2021, but "there was not enough information to identify a specific brand."

According to CDC data, 26 people have been infected with a listeria strain across 11 states. Eight people reported sick in California, four in each in Arizona and Colorado, and a further two each in Texas and Tennessee.

One person each from North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Nevada, Oregon and Washington was affected during a timeline ranging from June 15, 2014, to December 10, 2023.

The two deaths were reported in California and Texas.

Investigators focused on Rizo-López after listeria was found in a cheese sample following the reopening of the investigation in January this year after people had reported becoming ill the month before.

"Epidemiology and recent laboratory data show that queso fresco and cotija made by Rizo-López Foods are making people in this outbreak sick," the CDC said, adding that listeria was traced to a container where "cheeses are kept before they are packaged."

On January 11, Rizo-López recalled 344 cases of its "Aged Cotija Mexican Grating Cheese" product because of listeria concerns. No confirmed illnesses related specifically to this product were reported.

Then on February 5, Rizo-López confirmed the recall of a range of products including include cheese, yogurt, and sour cream. The products were sold under the brand names Tio Francisco, Don Francisco, Rizo Bros, Rio Grande, Food City, El Huache, La Ordena, San Carlos, Campesino, Santa Maria, Dos Ranchitos, Casa Cardenas, and 365 Whole Foods Market.

A full list of the affected products, use-by dates and universal product codes can be seen here.

Recalls in the food industry are not uncommon, but are issued when a product may be harmful to a person in some way. This can be due to the wrong ingredients being listed as a product or if consumers are not made aware of potential allergens.

In more extreme cases, companies will identify harmful bacteria such as salmonella, which can cause food poisoning and, in more serious cases, hospitalization or even death.

Update 02/09/24 1:44 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from the FDA.