The USDA has issued a public health alert about Fareway chicken salad that may be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria. The Iowa Department of Health issued a warning earlier this week about a Salmonella outbreak linked to that product in that specific state. The feds jumped in yesterday, stating that the product was also sold at all Fareway stores in Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
The product is varying weights of “Fareway Chicken Salad that sold sold in plastic deli containers with a Fareway store label. The product was made between December 15, 2017 and February 13, 2018. It was sold directly to consumers who shopped at Fareway. The problem was discovered when reports of illness surfaced in Iowa.
The Iowa Department of Public Health notified FSIS of an investigation into the outbreak on February 9, 2018. FSIS is working with officials at the Iowa Department of Public health and the Department of Inspections and Appeals on this investigation.
Attorney Fred Pritzker said, “the long term consequences of a Salmonella infection can be serious.” Contact him at 1-888-377-8900 or 612-338-0202.
Attorney Fred Pritzker, who has represented many people who have been sickened with Salmonella food poisoning, said, “Ready-to-eat products should not contain enough pathogenic bacteria to make someone sick. This outbreak should not have happened.”
Officials at the Iowa Department of Health told Food Poisoning Bulletin late yesterday that they don’t yet have details about the outbreak because the investigation is in early stages. We don’t know how many people are sick, the age range, illness onset dates, where the patients live, or if anyone has been hospitalized.
If you live in those states and have purchased Fareway chicken salad during the dates listed above, do not eat it. Officials are concerned that some of it may be in consumers’ freezers. Throw it away in a sealed package in a secure garbage can so other people and animals can’t eat it, or you can take it back to the place of purchase for a refund.
The symptoms of Salmonella food poisoning include diarrhea, abdominal cramps and pain, and fever. The diarrhea may be bloody. Illness symptoms usually begin 12 to 72 hours after eating food contaminated with the pathogenic bacteria. In some cases, diarrhea is so severe the patient must be hospitalized.
If you have eaten that salad and have experienced these symptoms, see your doctor. Even if you recover fully, salmonellosis can have long term health complications, including reactive arthritis and high blood pressure.
The noted law firm Pritzker Hageman, located in Minneapolis, helps people who have been sickened by contaminated food protect their legal rights and get compensation, answers, and justice. Our lawyers represent patients and families of children in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits against manufacturers, retailers, grocery stores, food processors, restaurants, and others. Attorney Fred Pritzker won $7.5 million for a young Minnesota client whose kidneys failed because he developed hemolytic uremic syndrome after an E. coli infection. You should know that class action lawsuits are not appropriate for outbreak victims because each case is so different.
