Michigan distributor recalling apples in Ohio

An apple a day keeps the doctor away — but not these apples.

A Michigan produce distributor, Jack Brown Produce, has recalled Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp and Golden Delicious apples processed and shipped by one of its suppliers, Nyblad Orchards, due to possible listeria contamination, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The apples were shipped to local Kroger stores between Dec. 11 and Dec. 16. The recall was announced Tuesday.

Listeria is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in children and frail or elderly people. Even healthy people can get sick from it with short-term symptoms of fever, headache, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. More serious effects are miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

No illnesses have been reported to date, according to the FDA.

Suspect apples were in every Kroger store in central Ohio but limited to 5-pound mesh bags of Fuji and Gala apples. Those apples have been removed from stores. Kroger also sent messages to affected customers who used their Plus Card while buying the apples. Kroger also has messages about the recall on receipts.

Aldi also recalled apples supplied by Jack Brown Produce but said the products were in a “limited” number of stores, including some in Ohio. None of the 20 or so Aldi stores in central Ohio received the recalled apples, according to Aldi.

At Aldi, the recalled apples consisted of bags of Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious and Honeycrisp varieties as well as loose, unpackaged Honeycrisp apples. Aldi has also removed all recalled apples from its stores.

Jack Brown Produce distributed the possibly contaminated apples to stores in Michigan, Missouri, Georgia and Indiana as well as Ohio.

Anyone who may have bought the recalled apples can contact Jack Brown Produce Inc. at 616-887-9568 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Meijer also is recalling products containing apples sold at its stores, including in central Ohio. One of Meijer’s suppliers, Fresh-Pak, discovered listeria in sliced apple products sourced from Jack Brown Produce.

Meijer is recalling the Michigan Harvest Salad, Shareable Waldorf Salad, and Fresh Cranberry Apple Stuffing Starter.

Customers should either dispose of the products or return them to Meijer for a full refund. Additional questions can be directed to Meijer at 800-543-3704, 24-hours a day, seven days a week.