Let’s hear it for Maine blueberries – you know, the ones that don’t get “recalled.”
Four states are facing a serious recall of blueberries produced not in the wild barrens of the Pine Tree State but in Oregon.
Maybe next time they’ll get Wyman’s on the phone and order from Maine’s finest.
Just a suggestion…
The Oregon-produced berries were recalled in Michigan, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as in Canada.
Nearly 60,000 pounds were recalled due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, a potentially life-threatening food-borne disease that can cause serious adverse health effects.
The FDA characterized the recall as a Class 1, its highest, most severe safety warning, meaning there is a reasonable probability that use of the product could cause serious adverse health consequences or death.
Maybe one way to avoid this problem is to order from Maine, which produces most of the wild (lowbush) blueberries in the world.
The majority of production occurs in Washington County, known for its blueberry “barrens.”
The best known supplier is Wyman’s Blueberries of Milbridge, which has been in business since 1874.
Wyman’s is the largest producer of wild blueberries in Maine and the U.S., managing over 17,000 acres of barrens and processing up to 2.3 million pounds of fruit daily during peak harvest.
The company got its start as a seafood-canning company, but switched to harvesting blueberries a few years later.
“We employ over 300 people year-round across our facilities in Maine and the Canadian Maritimes, and our aim is to be one of the world’s greatest companies to work for,” Wyman’s says on its website. “Above all, our goal as an employer is to enhance the lives of all who work here. We’re dedicated to enriching our employees’ lives while supporting communities we all want to live and work in.”
Though it’s known for its blueberries, Wyman’s harvests and sells several other fruits as well.
“We started out in 1874 canning sardines,” Wyman’s says. “But to our founder, Jasper Wyman, there was just something about the wild blueberry barrens surrounding his Maine cannery that compelled him.
“Eventually he realized you can package a sardine just about anywhere, but wild blueberries were unique to his little corner of the world.”
Take that, Oregon.
