The bagged salad cyclospora outbreak has been updated by the FDA. A new product has been added to the list of salads in the outbreak: Walmart’s Marketside Classic Iceberg Salad sold in 12 and 24 ounce sizes. The FDA has named Fresh Express as the producer of these salads. And there are now 206 people in 8 states sick in this outbreak. North Dakota has been added to the outbreak list.
The case count by state is: Iowa (74), Illinois (57), Kansas (1), Minnesota (25), Missouri (10), Nebraska (20), North Dakota (6), and Wisconsin (13). Twenty-three people have been hospitalized because they are so sick. And the illness onset dates range from May 11, 2020 through June 17, 2020.
The bagged salad products potentially linked to this outbreak include ALDI Little Salad Bar Garden Salads, Hy-Vee Garden Salad, Jewel-Osco Signature Farms Garden Salad, and Walmart Marketside Classic Iceberg Salad. All of these salads have been recalled in the last week. And they were sold, in various combinations, in twelve states in the midwest: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
The FDA notice states that “Consumers should not eat, and restaurants and retailers should not sell or serve any Fresh Express products currently on the market that were made in the Streamwood, Illinois, production facility and contain either iceberg lettuce, red cabbage, or carrots. These products are identifiable with a product code beginning with a ‘Z.'”
You can contact food safety attorney Fred Pritzker for help by calling 1-888-377-8900 or 612-338-0202.
Noted food safety attorney Fred Pritzker, who has represented many clients in lawsuits against makers and sellers of cyclospora contaminated foods said, “This outbreak is going to be huge. It has almost tripled in size in a week. And this isn’t the first time Fresh Express has been named in a cyclospora outbreak. In 2018, they were the source in the McDonald’s salad cyclospora outbreak that sickened more than 500 people across the country. And the contaminated ingredients were produced at the Streamwood, Illinois facility.”
The Hy-Vee Garden Salads were sold in stores in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The Jewel-Osco Signature Farms Garden Salads were sold in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa. The ALDI Little Salad Bar Garden Salads were sold in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The recalled Walmart Marketside Classic Iceberg Salads were sold in Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
The FDA has started an investigation at the Fresh Express facility in Streamwood, Illinois and thinks that other products made with the iceberg lettuce, red cabbage, or carrots produced at that facility may be contaminated with the cyclospora parasite. FDA has discussed this issue with Fresh Express and the firm is going to recall the suspect products. FDA is working with Fresh Express to identify other retailers who were supplied with these ingredients.
Symptoms of cyclosporiasis, the illness caused by this parasite, include fatigue, weight loss, loss of appetite, gas, bloating, abdominal cramps and pain, and explosive and watery diarrhea. If you have eaten bagged salad recently, or have eaten prepared iceberg lettuce, red cabbage or carrots, and have been sick, see your doctor. You may be part of this bagged salad cyclospora outbreak.
If you or a loved one have been sickened with a cyclospora infection after eating prepared produce or bagged salad, please contact our experienced lawyers for help at 1-888-377-8900 or 612-338-0202.
