A Foster Farms chicken Salmonella outbreak has sickened at least 338 people in 20 states, according to the latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 40 percent of those sickened have been hospitalized with one of seven outbreak strains, some of which are resistant to multiple antibiotics.
Foster Farms brand chicken has been identified as the likely source of the outbreak through epidemiologic, laboratory, and traceback investigations. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) issued a Public Health Alert about the chicken on Oct. 7 based on concerns about conditions in three Foster Farms facilities, but the company did not issue a recall.
On October 12, a San Francisco Costco store on El Camino Real recalled more than 9,000 units rotisserie chicken products due to possible Salmonella Heidelberg contamination. Five days later the recall was expanded to include 14,093 additional units of rotisserie chicken products. The company suspects cross-contamination as a likely cause. Consumers should not eat the recalled chicken products.
By state the case count is as follows: Alaska (1), Arkansas (1), Arizona (14), California (252), Colorado (4), Connecticut (1), Florida (4), Idaho (2), Kentucky (1), Michigan (2), Missouri (5), North Carolina (1), Nevada (9), New Mexico (2), Oregon (9), Puerto Rico (1), Texas (9), Utah (2), Virginia (2), Washington (15), and Wisconsin (1). Since the last update Oct. 11, 22 new cases have been reported from three states: Arizona (1), California (20), and Oregon (1).
Salmonella infections can be life-threatening. Small children, infants, pregnant women, seniors and those with HIV or who undergoing chemotherapy. Symptoms, which usually develop within six to 72 hours of exposure, include: diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever. These symptoms can last up to seven days.
