Local store not affected, did not carry product

Hy-Vee Inc. on Tuesday issued a recall for its Summer Fresh Pasta Salad after the company was notified the frozen vegetables used to make the pasta were potentially contaminated with listeria.

Albert Lea’s Hy-Vee store was not affected as the location has not carried that particular salad for a few years, said Jess Boyum, perishables manager

At the affected locations,  the pasta salad was sold in store kitchen department cold cases and salad bars.

The frozen vegetables were produced by Inventure Foods of Jefferson, Georgia, according to a press release from the company.

The release stated the salad is packaged upon customer request from the kitchen cold case and would have been packaged in 16-ounce or 32-ounce clear plastic containers. A light tan scale-produced label with the product name, weight and price would have been affixed to the container.

The recalled product would have been available in a limited number of stores between April 9 and Monday.

Listeria monocytogenes can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with a weakened immune system. Although healthy people may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

Stores carrying the pasta were in six states: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota. All stores that received the product have been instructed to dispose of it.

The release stated as of Tuesday, Hy-Vee had not received any complaints associated with the salads.