New York-based fruit distributor Jac. Vandenberg has recalled thousands of cartons of Chilean stonefruit over concerns they could be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

An announcement on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website stated that the company is recalling 1,727 cartons of fresh peaches, 1,207 cartons of fresh nectarines and 365 cartons of fresh plums.

"The peaches and nectarines are sold as a bulk retail produce item with PLU sticker (PLU# 4044, 3035, 4378) showing the country of origin of Chile," the FDA said. 

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.

"The recall was the result of a routine sampling program by the packing house which revealed that the finished products contained the bacteria. The company has ceased the distribution of the product as FDA and the company continue their investigation as to what caused the problem," it said.

The fruit was distributed in 18 states - Alabama, California, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia - through small retail establishments and at larger supermarket chains including Walmart, Costco, and Aldi.

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. Although 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.