The ALDI Hy Vee Jewel Osco bagged salad cyclospora outbreak has now sickened at least 122 people in 7 states, according to the latest update by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That’s an increase of 46 more patients since June 20, 2020, and Wisconsin has been added to the state list. Nineteen people have been hospitalized because they are so sick.
The patient case count by state is: Iowa (54), Illinois (30), Kansas (1), Minnesota (13), Missouri (7), Nebraska (8), and Wisconsin (9). The illness onset dates range from May 11, 2020 through June 15, 2020. The patient age range is from 16 to 92 years.
The bagged salad mixes linked to this outbreak are ALDI Little Salad Bar brand Garden Salad sold in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin; Hy-Vee brand 12-ounce bagged Garden Salad sold in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; Jewel-Osco Signature Farms brand 12-ounce bagged Garden Salad sold in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa. All of these products have been recalled.
Do not eat these salads if you have purchased them. Throw them away in a secure garbage can, even if someone has eaten part of the salads and has not gotten sick. If you live in Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, or Wisconsin and don’t know whether the bagged salad you purchased is one of the recalled products, don’t eat it.
Food safety attorney Raymond Konz of the law firm Pritzker Hageman said, “Fresh Express manufactured the garden salad (sold at Hy-Vee, Jewel-Osco, and ALDI stores in the midwest) that is causing the latest Cyclospora outbreak. When it comes to foodborne illness outbreaks, Fresh Express is a repeat offender. As we have before, we will hold Fresh Express accountable for manufacturing and selling unsafe food.”
The CDC says that epidemiological evidence indicates that those three recalled salads are a likely source of this outbreak. However, they also stated that these salads do not explain all of the illnesses in this outbreak. The CDC and FDA and state partners are investigating to find other products that may be contaminated. Fresh Express is the supplier of the salad for those private brands.
Since there are typically multiple clusters of cyclosporiasis in the U.S. every summer, government is trying to determine if other recent cases of cyclospora that haven’t been announced are inked to the contaminated ingredients in these three recalled bagged salad mixes.
Symptoms of cyclosporiasis usually begin a few days to a week after a person ingests the oocyst. The oocysts release sporozoites in the intestines, and they invade the cell walls. This is what causes the explosive diarrhea that is typical of this illness. The sporozoites mature in the intestine to become oocysts, which are expelled in feces, and the cycle begins again. Other symptoms of this infection include gas, bloating, abdominal cramps, nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, vomiting, body aches, and fever.
One of the worst things about this illness is that it may seem to resolve, then can recur without warning, forcing patients to be housebound for weeks. If you have been experiencing these symptoms, especially if you have eaten bagged salads, see your doctor. You may be part of this bagged salad cyclospora outbreak.
If you or a loved one has been sickened with a cyclospora infection after eating recalled ALDL, Jewel Osco, Hy-Vee Fresh Express garden salads, please contact our experienced Minneapolis attorneys, including Raymond Konz, for help at 1-888-377-8900 or 612-338-0202.
