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DeLauro Demands that Dole Answer for Distributing Contaminated Salads that Killed Americans

April 29, 2016

WASHINGTON, DC (April 29, 2016) Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) today released the following statement demanding that Dole answer for continuing to distribute contaminated salads to store shelves for more than a year and a half after knowing a plant had a Listeria contamination.

"News that Dole knew about a Listeria outbreak in their facility, yet continued to push contaminated salads onto the American consumer is an outrage. How could executives at Dole even consider putting products onto store shelves and into American homes when they knew for close to two years that there was a major public health issue," said Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. "Four people died from these contaminated salads, and dozens more were sickened and hospitalized, because executives at Dole put the company's profits over public health. These executives must be held accountable for their unconscionable actions."

"The American people deserve better and we must absolutely ensure that a situation like this one never happens again," continued DeLauro. "The Dole facility in question has said that they have taken corrective actions, but we need specific answers as to what those actions are. If Dole's actions are not sufficient to ensure food safety, then this facility must be shut down."

Earlier this year, DeLauro issued a statement questioning why it took the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) so long to identify the source of the outbreak linked to Dole. It is now apparent that Dole first knew of Listeria present in their Springfield, Ohio plant in July 2014, and later found it at least five more times in 2014, and three more times in 2015. Dole did not stop shipping the contaminated salads until January 2016.

DeLauro is a senior member on the subcommittee responsible for funding the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is overseeing the investigation of Dole.

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