A Minnesota resident sickened in a possible Tailor Cut Produce Salmonella Javiana outbreak joins at least 10 other ill people who live in Pennsylvania, according to an outbreak update from the FDA. The person from Minnesota apparently got sick in New York, one of the states that received the recalled Tailor Cut Produce along with facilities in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Epidemiologic and traceback evidence indicates that the fruit mix from Tailor Cut Product of North Brunswick, New Jersey is a potential source of this outbreak. The FDA has started an inspection at the Tailor Cut Produce facility and is collecting records to start a traceback investigation.
The Tailor Cut fruit mix, called Fruit Luau, was distributed to nursing homes, schools, hospitals, and other facilities that cater to people who are vulnerable to serious food poisoning complications. So it’s important that those facilities do not sell or serve this product. It may also have been sold in restaurants, banquet facilities, and hotels. Fruit Luau contained cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple, and grapes.
The firm recalled the Fruit Luau as well as cut honeydew, cut cantaloupe, and cut pineapple products on December 7, 2019. These products were distributed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Delaware between November 15, 2019 and December 1, 2019.
You can contact Minnesota food safety attorney Fred Pritzker for help by calling 1-888-377-8900 or 612-338-0202.
The illnesses of the eleven people who are currently counted in this outbreak were confirmed by whole genome sequencing (WGS) in Minnesota and Pennsylvania. Eight of those people have been hospitalized because they are so sick. The last illness onset date was November 28, 2019.
The CDC only reports cases that have been confirmed by WGS. Other cases in other states may be awaiting WGS confirmation to be included in the official outbreak total. In all, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reports that it is investigating 33 laboratory-confirmed illnesses of Salmonella at four healthcare facilities in southeast Pennsylvania. Salmonella Javiana has been identified among cases at three of the four facilities.
Symptoms of a Salmonella infection include a fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal and stomach cramps, a rash, headaches, and diarrhea that may be bloody. Symptoms start 12 to 72 hours after exposure to the pathogen. Most people recover after a few days, but some do become ill enough to need hospitalization. If you have eaten the recalled fruit and have been ill, see your doctor.
