On December 4, 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that Jamba Juice (San Francisco, CA) was notifying the public that smoothies containing strawberries sold at its Jamba Juice stores in Arizona, Southern Nevada, and Southern California between November 25 and December 1, 2006, may have been contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

Listeria monocytogenes is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems (the immunocompromised). Healthy individuals 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.

Jamba Juice was first made aware of the contaminated strawberry when one of its suppliers, Cleugh's Frozen Foods of Salinas, CA, notified the company that frozen strawberries from one of Cleugh's facilities tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

Jamba Juice immediately and voluntarily halted all shipments from the location where Listeria was found, and removed all strawberries provided by the production facility, including berries not believed to be impacted. All stores that received shipments from the supplier's affected location have been cleaned and disinfected.

No confirmed illnesses have been reported by customers to either Jamba Juice's consumer help line or store management, according to the FDA.

More information: FDA press release on the Jamba Juice Alert.