Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are telling Americans to stay away from commercially produced prepackaged caramel apples. They’re linked to an outbreak of listeriosis. There are no cases reported in South Dakota, but officials in Minnesota have reported four cases and two deaths.
State Epidemiologist Lon Kightlinger says so far listeria on the commercially produced caramel apples has sickened 29 people in ten states. Five people have died.
“Listeria is on the surface of the apple, on the skin, and then it gets coated in the caramel, and the listeria isn’t killed, or it doesn’t die, and it just grows and then people eat it and they get infected,” Kightlinger says.
Kightlinger says listeria typically affects people with weakened immune systems, the elderly, and pregnant women. It can be especially harmful for unborn children.
He says the symptoms start out flu-like, but can progress to become fatal. He says if you want to eat caramel apples this holiday season, it’s best to make your own.