The first known cyclospora outbreak of the 2020 season in the U.S. linked to ALDI, Hy-Vee, and Jewel-Osco salads has sickened at least 122 people in 7 states, as of June 23, 2020. Nineteen people have been hospitalized. Where were those bagged salads linked to cyclospora illnesses sold? Are people in other states at risk?
While there are illness in just seven of the twelve states where the salads were sold, people living in the states without an outbreak still need to discard those products and should monitor their health for the symptoms of cyclosporiasis if they ate them. And it’s important to know that the FDA says that these products could have been distributed to more states and retailers than are currently known.
Hy Vee Garden Salads were sold in their stores in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Jewel-Osco Signature Farms Garden Salads were sold in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa. And the ALDI Little Salad Bar Garden Salads were sold in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The salads were produced and packaged for those brands by Fresh Express. All of these salads have been recalled.
The current case count by state is: Iowa (54), Illinois (30), Kansas (1), Minnesota (13), Missouri (7), Nebraska (8), and Wisconsin (9). But that doesn’t meant that people who live in North Dakota, South Dakota, Michigan, Indiana, and Arkansas are out of the woods.
Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that is excreted in human feces. It can contaminate water used to irrigate crops, or can come from insanitary conditions in the field or processing centers. The illness is not passed person-to-person, since the excreted oocyst must mature outside the body before it becomes infectious.
Symptoms of cyclosporiasis include fatigue, loss of appetite, gas, cramps, bloating, weight loss, fever, vomiting, and explosive and watery diarrhea. People usually start to feel its 2 to 5 days after infection.
If you live in one of the twelve states where these bagged salads linked to cyclospora outbreak were sold, and start feeling ill with these symptoms, see your doctor.
If you or a loved one have been sickened with a cyclospora infection after eating recalled bagged salads from ALDI, Hy-Vee, or Jewel-Osco, please contact our experienced attorneys for help at 1-888-377-8900 or 612-338-0202.
