The McDonald’s Fresh Express salad cyclospora outbreak appears to be over, according to the CDC. As of September 11, 2018, 551 people are sick in 15 states and New York City. They consumed “a variety of salads” from McDonald’s restaurants in the Midwest. Twenty-four people were hospitalized because they were so sick.
Epidemiologic and traceback evidence showed that salads purchased from McDonald’s restaurants were the likely source of this outbreak. The salad supplier, Fresh Express, provided an unused package of romaine lettuce and carrot mix that was distributed to McDonald’s; FDA analysis confirmed the presence of the cyclospora parasite in that sample.
No single source or point of contamination for this outbreak was found. The FDA investigated distribution and supplier information.
The case count by state is: Connecticut (1), Florida (1), Iowa (99), Illinois (274), Indiana (10), Kentucky (9), Michigan (2), Minnesota (11), Missouri (52), Nebraska (5), New York City (1), Ohio (16), South Dakota (18), Tennessee (1), Virginia (1), and Wisconsin (10). The patients in Connecticut, Florida, New York City, Tennessee, and Virginia purchased salads in one of the Midwest states. There is no explanation why the case counts were so high in Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri.
You can contact attorney Fred Pritzker for help at 1-888-377-8900 if you think you may be a part of this McDonald’s Fresh Express salad cyclospora outbreak.
Food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker, who has represented many clients in cyclospora lawsuits over the past few years, said, “Producers and processors are going to have to do a better job sourcing ingredients to make sure these parasitic outbreaks end. It’s inexcusable that someone would be sick for months just because they bought a salad from a fast food restaurant.”
In interviews, ill persons answered questions about the foods they ate two weeks before they got sick. They reported eating several different types of McDonald’s salads. Traceback investigations indicated that Fred Express supplied salad mix that was produced by a processor in Streamwood, Illinois.
McDonald’s stopped selling salads in 3000 locations in 14 states in mid July. And romaine lettuce from the same Fresh Express lot that tested positive for c Cyclospora was distributed in pre-made salads and wraps distributed by Caito Foods of Indianapolis. Those products were recalled on July 30, 2018.
Cyclospora cayetanensis is a microscopic parasite that is endemic to tropical regions of the world. It contaminates food and water. When ingested it passes in a bowel movement. The oocyst needs time to become infectious before it can sicken other people. Symptoms include diarrhea that is explosive and frequent, loss of appetite, weight loss body aches, fatigue, and stomach cramps.
