The CDC is weighing in on the Jules Cashew Brie Salmonella outbreak that has been declared over. As of July 7, 2021, 20 people in four states have been sickened in this outbreak. Five people have been hospitalized. No deaths were reported.
The 20 people sickened is an almost threefold increase over the number reported in the last update in May. Then, seven people were part of this outbreak. In addition, a new state was added to the outbreak: Maryland.
The patient case count by state is: California (15), Florida (2), Maryland (1), and Tennessee (2). The patient age range is from 1 to 72 years. Illness onset dates range from December 11, 2020, to May 9, 2021.
State and local public health officials interviewed patients about the foods they ate the week before they got sick. Seventy-nine percent said they ate Jule’s Cashew Brie. That was the only common product identified in this outbreak.
Jule’s Foods recalled all of their products, including cashew brie, dip, and salad dressing, on April 22, 2021. You can see the list of recalled products at the FDA web site.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with food poisoning, you can contact 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 Salmonella lawsuits, said, “We are glad that this outbreak is over and that the FDA and CDC and state partners solved it so quickly. No one should get sick because they bought a ready to eat food.”
Public health investigators used the PusleNet system to find people who were part of this outbreak. Officials from California and Tennessee collected samples of Jule’s cashew brie for testing. Whole genome sequencing showed that samples of Jule’s truffle cashew brie collected in both states were contaminated with Salmonella bacteria. California officials found the outbreak strains of Salmonella Chester and Urbana in the Brie, and Tennessee officials found the outbreak strain of Salmonella Urbana.
FDA and the California Department of Public Health inspectors conducted an inspection at Jule’s Foods. FDA collected food and environmental samples from that facility and found the outbreak strain of Salmonella Urbana in samples of raw cashews. Those were from the same lot of cashews that were used to make the recalled brie. Other strains of Salmonella were found, but those were not linked to any human illnesses.
If you have eaten any of the recalled items and have been sick with the symptoms of Salmonella food poisoning, see your doctor. You may be part of this Jules Cashew Brie Salmonella outbreak.
If you or a loved one have been sickened with a Salmonella infection after eating recalled Jule’s Foods cashew brie, please contact our experienced lawyers for help at 1-888-377-8900 or 612-338-0202.
