Class IITerminated · reported 2019-12-25

Queen Victoria Sweet Baby Broccoli from Ippolito International, packed in ice in half…

Stern Produce Company Inc. recalled this product and the FDA reported the enforcement action on 25 December 2019 as Class II. The recall was initiated by the firm. Firm is recalling one lot of baby broccoli because it may be contaminated with bacteria contained in dripping ice water from a drain tray in the cooler.

The record

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Product: Queen Victoria Sweet Baby Broccoli from Ippolito International, packed in ice in half bushel boxes, 18 count bunches/case, pack date of Nov 07 [2019], twist tie label on each bunch. Packaged by Ippolito International, Salinas, CA 93901 (see photos of labels on pgs. 3-4 of Att A/B in Associated Docs).
Reason for recall: Firm is recalling one lot of baby broccoli because it may be contaminated with bacteria contained in dripping ice water from a drain tray in the cooler.
Recalling firm: Stern Produce Company Inc.
Firm location: Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Classification: Class II
Status: Terminated
Recall number: F-0347-2020
Quantity: 20/18-count cases
Distribution: All direct consignees are located in AZ.
Initiated: 18 November 2019
Reported by FDA: 25 December 2019
Terminated: 30 January 2020
Firm notified by: Telephone
Product codes: Case labeled with pack date of Nov 07 [2019]. Stern Lot Code: 36138209, Item #668, Ippollito Lot Code: 19WIM6ABBMSP. Fresh produce, no exp or best by date on product, average shelf life of 14-21 days.

Reading this record

Five things about this record are not in the record itself, and each one changes how it should be read.

Class II means the FDA judged a remote probability of serious harm, or a probability of temporary or medically reversible harm. The class is assigned by an agency health hazard evaluation under 21 CFR 7.41, not by the firm.
The firm started this recall itself. Most FDA food recalls are voluntary, and a recall is a food safety plan working rather than failing. The circumstances in which the agency asks for one instead are set out in 21 CFR 7.45.
This record is the only one the FDA opened for its recall event, so it covers a single product code.
The recall ran for 2 months, from 18 November 2019 to termination on 30 January 2020. Termination means the agency judged that all reasonable effort had been made, under 21 CFR 7.55, and it says nothing about whether product remained in circulation.
The FDA published the enforcement report 5 weeks after the firm began the recall.
The product description on this record names no food this site can classify, so it appears on no food-type page. That is a limit of the description rather than of the recall.

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Early access

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