A Salmonella outbreak is associated with the service deli at the Costco Wholesale Warehouse at 1801 10th Avenue North West in Issaquah, Washington, according to a press release issued by Seattle King County Health Department. At least seven people are sick in this outbreak. One person has been hospitalized.
The service deli prepares and sells ready-to-eat foods, such as pork ribs, sandwiches, rotisserie chicken, wraps, mac and cheese, poke, shrimp cocktail, and cilantro lime shrimp. At this time, the source of the illnesses has not been identified. Everyone who was sick has since recovered.
The outbreak was reported starting on August 28,. 2017. The strain of Salmonella bacteria is Salmonella I,4,[5], 12:i:-. DNA fingerprinting was performed on isolates taken from patients; all were identical. The illness onset time frame is from August 28, 2017 through July 13, 2018. A common epidemiological link wasn’t established until August 2018.
All seven people who got sick shopped at the Costco Wholesale Warehouse in Issaquah. Five of those people bought ready-to-eat food from the service deli. Food purchase history could not be verified for one person. One person was an employee at the service deli. There is no evidence that the employee is the source of the outbreak.
You can contact lawyer Fred Pritzker at 1-888-377-8900.
Food safety attorney Fred Pritzker, who has represented many clients in lawsuits against grocery stores and other facilities, said, “Ready-to-eat foods should never be contaminated with enough bacteria to make someone sick. No one should suffer because they picked up food at a deli for lunch or dinner”
Environmental Health Investigators visited the facility on August 7, 2018. They identified potential risk factors for cross-contamination and spreading bacteria. Those factors include inconsistent handwashing practices, and improper cleaning and sanitizing of surfaces that foods touch. Corrective actions were addressed with the store’s management.
Public health officials asked Costco’s service deli at that store to temporarily stop preparing ready-to-eat foods that were not further cooked by the consumer. On September 20, 2018, investigators went back to the facility and found more areas to improve to limit cross-contamination. Service deli employees needed more food handling training. Investigators also required completion of deep cleaning and disinfection of the service deli before they could resume selling ready-to-eat foods. A follow-up inspection on September 21, 2018 showed that corrective actions had been taken. Investigators collected raw poultry and environmental samples on August 7, 2018. They tested negative for the outbreak strain of Salmonella bacteria.
The symptoms of a Salmonella infection include fever, nausea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea that may be bloody. If you ate food purchased from the Costco at 1801 10th Avenue North West in Issaquah, Washington and have been ill, see your doctor.
