Walmart Broccoli Recalled in 20 States by FDA Updated to Highest Risk Level

Published: 2/3/2025, 4:49:14 PM EST

Walmart Broccoli Recalled in 20 States by FDA Updated to Highest Risk Level — Recalled bags of ready-to-eat 12 oz Marketside Broccoli Florets sold at Walmart stores in 20 states. (Image courtesy of FDA).

Broccoli sold at Walmart in 20 states is now the subject of a more serious recall, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The agency updated the warning to a class 1 recall on Jan. 27—the highest recall risk level issued by the agency, where exposure to the product could cause serious adverse health consequences or death.

On Dec. 27, Braga Fresh of Soledad, California, issued a voluntary recall of washed and ready-to-eat 12 oz Marketside Broccoli Florets.

The FDA announced the initial recall on Dec. 31, 2024, due to the possibility of Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

The contamination risk was discovered during random sampling by Texas Health & Human Services in a Texas store, where one of multiple samples yielded a positive test result.

So far, no illnesses have been reported in connection with the recall, but if consumers have bought the item, they are urged to throw it away immediately.

The recalled 12-ounce bags of washed and ready-to-eat broccoli have a best-used-by-date of Dec. 10, 2024. The UPC code listed on the back of the bag is 6 81131 32884 5, while the lot code listed on the front of the bag is BFFG327A6.

The potentially contaminated batch was shipped to Walmart stores in the following states: Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Given the potentially grave consequences of listeria infection, and especially for pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems, consumers should not hesitate to discard the product.

According to the CDC, pregnant women have a 25 percent chance of experiencing a miscarriage—or infant death shortly after birth—from even mild listeria infection.

Listeriosis symptoms usually begin within 24 hours of eating contaminated food, usually last one to three days, and are easily treated with antibiotics. Healthy individuals normally suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.

When the infection spreads beyond the gut, however, serious invasive illnesses may develop. Symptoms include flu-like symptoms such as fever and aching muscles, as well as confusion and even seizures. These symptoms usually begin within 2 weeks of eating contaminated food.

According to the CDC, those with a weakened immune system—such as people with cancer, AIDS, diabetes, liver or kidney disease, etc.—almost always have to be hospitalized when they are infected. They make up three quarters of Listeria infection cases. Sadly, 1 in 6 people in this group with Listeria infection die.