The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention caution consumers and retailers in eight midwestern states to stay away from some bagged salad mixes as officials investigate an outbreak of a bowel disease caused by a microscopic parasite.
More than 200 people in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and Wisconsin who reported eating salad mixes before getting sick have laboratory-confirmed infections of the disease, cyclosporiasis, the CDC said Friday. At least 23 people have been hospitalized for the disease and no deaths have been reported, the agency said.
The CDC urged consumers and retailers not to eat, sell, or serve four different recalled salad kits, all of which were produced by Fresh Express in Streamwood, Illinois.
Products include Marketside-branded Classic Iceberg Salad, which was sold at Walmart stores with expiration dates May 19-July 4, and Little Salad Bar-brand Garden Salad, sold at Aldi stores with the expiration dates from May 1 to June 29. Also on the list were Jewel-Osco Signature Farms Brand Garden Salad with expiration dates May 16-July 4, and Hy-Vee Brand Garden Salad with any expiration date.
Fresh Express announced a separate voluntary recall on Saturday of dozens of products produced in Streamwood that contain iceberg lettuce, red cabbage, and carrots, after the FDA discovered that the products may be related to the outbreak.
Products are marked with the letter Z at the beginning of the product code, which is stamped in the upper right corner of the front of the package, the company said.
People started getting sick from May 11 to June 17, according to the CDC. They are aged between 16 and 92 years; More than half are women and girls.
Cyclosporiasis is caused by Cyclospora cayetanensis, a microscopic parasite that can contaminate food or water, according to the CDC. Symptoms include diarrhea, cramps, and fatigue.
Cyclosporiasis can be treated with an antibiotic, the agency said, but noted that most healthy people recover on their own.
The CDC said in its alert that “bagged salad mixes purchased from Aldi, Hy-Vee, Jewel-Osco and Walmart do not explain all of the illnesses in this outbreak,” adding that he and the FDA “are continuing to investigate to determine whether other products are a source of disease. “
Donald W. Schaffner, a food microbiologist at Rutgers University in New Jersey, said that the first major outbreak of food-related cyclosporiasis was reported in the mid-1990s, and that to this day scientists are still They haven’t found out what caused it.
“It is likely due to the quality of the water used to irrigate the product, and probably has something to do with human fecal contamination of that water, but of course there are many unknowns,” said Professor Schaffner. “Very often with these fresh produce shoots, we never learn the ultimate cause.”
“But obviously there was a collapse in the quality chain,” he added. The fact that hundreds of people get sick in various states, he said, suggests “a quite significant sanitary collapse in the production of this food.”
Professor Schaffner said this was the third year in a row that there had been an outbreak of cyclosporiasis during the warmer months.
Barbara Hines, a Food Express spokeswoman, said Sunday that “although everyone involved expects the outbreak to be diminishing, the exact source of the contamination has yet to be identified, and doing so is imperative.”
“Unfortunately, little is still known about Ciclospora and how it is transmitted to fresh produce, its mode of infection, or why outbreaks often occur during the spring and summer months,” he said.
Ms. Hines said that “the company’s first concern, of course, is the health and well-being of sick people, and ensuring that all appropriate measures are implemented to protect public health.”
