Planters nuts recalled due to potential for listeria contamination

Planters nuts recalled due to potential for listeria contamination

Hormel Foods is recalling two types of Planters nuts due to the potential for contamination with the germ listeria, the manufacturer announced.

The recall affects certain Planters honey roasted peanuts and Planters mixed nuts shipped to Publix supermarket warehouses in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina, and to Dollar Tree warehouses in South Carolina and Georgia.

While there have been no reports of illnesses, the products “are being recalled out of an abundance of caution” because they could be tainted with listeria, which can cause serious, sometimes fatal, infections in certain individuals, Hormel Foods said in an announcement last week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that listeria is most likely to sicken pregnant women and newborns, adults age 65 or older, and individuals with weakened immune systems. Listeria infection can cause miscarriages, stillbirths and preterm labor among pregnant women.

Others can be infected with listeria, but it’s rare for them to become very ill: In healthy people, symptoms include fever, stiff neck, headache and flu-like symptoms, according to the CDC.

The recall affects 4-ounce packages of Planters Honey Roasted Peanuts with a “best if used by” date of April 11, 2025, and a package UPC code of 2900002097. It also affects 8.75-ounce cans of Planters Deluxe Lightly Salted Mixed Nuts with a “best if used by” date of April 5, 2026, and a package UPC code of 2900001621 on the side of the can.

No other products or packaging sizes are included in the recall, Minnesota-based Hormel Foods said.

Customers should discard the nuts or return them to the store where they purchased them for an exchange, the company added.

The CDC estimates that 1,600 people get sick from listeria each year and that about 260 die, making listeria the third leading cause of death from food poisoning in the United States.

Hormel Foods said in a notice posted on the Food and Drug Administration’s website that “commitment to food safety remains our utmost priority” and that “a full investigation” is underway to determine the source of the contamination.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com