Wawona Packing recalls fruit over listeria concerns

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wawona Packing Co is recalling fresh Sweet 2 Eat brand peaches, plums, nectarines and pluots because of potential contamination by listeria contamination, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. The Cutler, California, company is pulling about three dozen brand products of bulk and packaged fruit nationwide, the FDA said in a statement on Monday. Retail cartons may have the brand names Wawona, Sweet 2 Eat or Harvest Sweet, it said. There have been no reported illnesses from the products. The recall was launched based on internal company testing. Wawona shut down the implicated packing lines, retrofitted equipment, sanitized the plant and retested. Subsequent tests have been negative, the FDA said. The recalled products were shipped directly to retailers and wholesalers. Listeria monocytogenes can lead to serious, even fatal, infections especially in young children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. Infections can be particularly harmful for pregnant women. (Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Bill Trott)