The Wawona Peaches Salmonella outbreak was the number three multistate outbreak of 2020, with at least 101 sick in 17 states. There were many primary and secondary recalls of bagged and bulk peaches and peach products related to this outbreak.
The patient case count by state was: California (1), Connecticut (1), Illinois (1), Iowa (11), Kansas (1), Kentucky (1), Maryland (1), Michigan (18), Minnesota (27), Missouri (2), New Jersey (8), New York (14), Ohio (1), Pennsylvania (4), Vermont (1), Virginia (3), and Wisconsin (6). Illness onset dates ranged from June 29, 2020 to August 27, 2020. The patient age range was from 1 to 92 years. Of 90 patients who gave information about their illness to investigators, 28 were hospitalized, for a hospitalization rate of 31%, which is higher than the typical rate of 20% for a Salmonella outbreak.
Epidemiologic and traceback evidence indicated that peaches packed or supplied by Prima Wawona or Wawona Packing Company were the likely source of this outbreak. The FDA collected records from grocery stores where ill persons said they bought peaches.
Those records showed that loose and bagged peaches by Wawona Packing were sold at multiple grocery stores where ill persons purchased peaches. In interviews, 62 people talked to the FDA. Fifty of them, or 81%, said they ate fresh peaches the week before they got sick.
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 people sickened in Salmonella outbreaks said, “Most people just don’t associate fresh fruit with food poisoning outbreaks, but produce is often contaminated with enough pathogens to make people sick. No one should get sick just because they bought peaches to eat.”
Symtpoms of a Salmonella infection include a fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal and stomach pain and cramps, and diarrhea that may be bloody. People usually start getting sick 6 to 72 hours after eating food contaminated with this pathogen. Most people recover without a doctor’s care, but some do get sick enough to require hospitalization.
If you have suffered the symptoms of a Salmonella infection, especially if you ate fresh peaches this past summer, see your doctor. You may have been part of this Wawona peaches Salmonella outbreak.
If you or a loved one have been sickened with a Salmonella infection after eating recalled precut Wawona peaches or products made with them, please contact our experienced attorneys for help at 1-888-377-8900 or 612-338-0202.
