FDA Escalates Illinois Broccoli Recall – Now Says It Can Kill You

A broccoli recall in Illinois has suddenly become much more serious as the feds have now escalated the classification and warn that it could be a life-threatening situation.

As we previously shared near the end of 2024, the Food and Drug Administration issued a recall of broccoli that was widely available at Illinois Walmart stores. Now, the FDA has escalated the urgency of their warning and assigned this recall a Class I rating which means they now consider the consequences of consuming it as deadly. I saw USA Today mention the FDA had given this recall the most urgent classification possible.

This product is believed to be contaminated with listeria. It's the 12oz Marketside Broccoli Florets with best if used by date Dec 10, 2024 with a package that looks like this. Look for the UPC code 6 81131 32884 5 on the back of the bag.

The concern of the FDA is that this broccoli is in many Illinois freezers being saved for later use. For the very young, very old and/or those with compromised immune systems, that could lead to life-threatening health consequences. 

There are nearly 6,000 cases of broccoli that were affected by this recall that does include Illinois and more than a dozen other states.

The updated recall status from the FDA says this recall is ongoing and the concern remains that this listeria contamination will result in serious health problems for some.