Tag Archives: Salmonella

CDC has new questions about 39-state salmonella outbreak

Health officials have new questions about a deadly salmonella outbreak that has sickened nearly 900 people nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said this week.

Since the beginning of July, the CDC says 888 people in 39 states have been affected by the outbreak, which has been blamed on contaminated cucumbers that were imported from Mexico.

The outbreak has killed at least four people and sent 191 people to the hospital, the CDC said.

After an investigation, Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce and Custom Produce Sales each initiated cucumber recalls in the first half of September as a result of possible contamination.

However, the CDC’s latest update on the outbreak said 106 people have fallen ill after Sept. 24, when all of the recalled cucumbers should have been either off the shelves or spoiled. That includes 50 people who have gotten sick since Nov. 19, when the CDC last issued an update.

The CDC said an investigation into the new illnesses is ongoing, and officials are trying to determine if cross-contamination from the recalled cucumbers could be to blame.

The organization is encouraging anyone who might have bought or sold recalled cucumbers to wash and sanitize drawers, shelves, crates or reusable grocery bags where the vegetables were stored.

The CDC has not yet determined any other food item that could be causing people to get sick.

Illnesses have been reported in every state except Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Jersey, Delaware, Michigan, West Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi.

While the rate of reported illnesses has dropped since the recalls were issued, the CDC says it’s still above what is expected for this time of year. And the latest update indicated one person got sick in Tennessee, a state that had not previously reported any illnesses tied to the outbreak.

Salmonella usually triggers a mild illness that can cause fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps, the CDC says, and most people recover within a week without any treatment. But children, older adults and those with weak immune symptoms are particularly at risk of severe infections.

According to the CDC, an estimated 1.2 million people in the United States get sick from salmonella every year. About 19,000 of them are hospitalized and about 450 of them die.

California has reported the most illnesses tied to this outbreak, with 241 people getting sick there. The CDC said that three of them died, though salmonella likely wasn’t a factor in two cases. The outbreak is also being blamed for one death apiece in Arizona, Oklahoma and Texas.

Trader Joe’s recalls cashews amid salmonella concerns

A possible salmonella contamination has prompted Trader Joe’s to recall some cashews.

The grocery store chain issued a statement about the recall late last week, saying that one particular kind of Trader Joe’s Raw Cashew Pieces could be contaminated with the bacteria.

The cashews are marked “BEST BEFORE 07.17.2016TF4,” the company said, and were distributed to stores in 30 states across the country, as well as the District of Columbia.

It wasn’t clear exactly how many packages were included in the recall.

Trader Joe’s said it learned of the possible contamination from a supplier, but didn’t elaborate.

A recall notice on the Food and Drug Administration website says Heritage International (USA) Inc. was voluntarily recalling the cashew lot after routine lab tests found salmonella in it.

The bacteria can cause people to fall ill.

Trader Joe’s said it hasn’t received any reports of anyone getting sick from the cashews, though it has stopped selling all Trader Joe’s Raw Cashew Pieces in its stores pending an investigation.

The grocery chain encourages anyone who bought the cashews marked “BEST BEFORE 07.17.2016TF4” to return them for a full refund or throw them out without eating them.

According to the CDC, salmonella sickens about 1.2 million Americans every year. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps, and most people fully recover in 4 to 7 days. In extreme cases, though, infections can spread beyond the intestines and become more severe.

The bacteria leads to about 450 deaths and 19,000 hospitalizations every year, the CDC says. Children, older adults and people with weak immune systems are particularly at risk.

Life Sentence Urged In Peanut Salmonella Case

The head of a peanut processing company that was convicted of conspiracy related to a salmonella poisoning outbreak is facing an unprecedented sentence of life in prison.

Stewart Parnell, the former owner of Peanut Corporation of America, was found guilty in September in 71 counts related to covering up salmonella contamination of the company’s products.

Nine people died and 700 were sickened in the 2008-2009 outbreak.

U.S. federal prosecutors filed a brief calling for the life sentence to be issued, saying the crimes committed by Parnell fall under the federal guidelines for a life sentence.

If accepted by the judge, it would be the first time someone has been sentenced to life in prison for food-safety violations.

“It was an extraordinary verdict that could result in an extraordinary amount of time in jail for a food crime,” Bill Marler, a Seattle lawyer who represents victims of food-borne illnesses, including some in the Peanut Corp. case, told the Wall Street Journal.

“A lot of them are quite relieved,” Marler told USA TODAY. “These are people whose family members died from eating peanut butter, so you can understand where they may not have much sympathy for Mr. Parnell.”

Parnell’s lawyers say the recommendation is extreme.

“The truth of the matter is Stewart Parnell ate that peanut butter; he fed it to his children and fed it to his grandchildren,” Hodges told USA TODAY. “He never intended to harm anyone.”