Woman dies after becoming infected with listeria from a caramel apple

A Santa Cruz County family says their loved one died from listeria after eating a caramel apple she bought at Safeway.

The family of 81 year old Shirlee Frey of Felton has filed a lawsuit.

Frey reportedly bought the apple before Halloween and became so ill she fell and hit her head in early November.

Frey later died in the hospital with a listeria infection.

29 people have been sickened or hospitalized as of yesterday.

Safeway pulled the caramel apples from all of its stores, but no specific brands have been named, and no recalls have been issued.

The grocery story issued a statement to the Seattle Times saying, “We are aware of the issue regarding caramel apples, and have proactively removed the product from sale in our stores. However, we are currently not aware of any illness tied to items purchased in our stores.”