The Jules Cashew Brie Salmonella outbreak has sickened at least five people in three states and hospitalized two people. The outbreak is linked to a food called cashew brie that is vegan. But what is cashew brie?
We don’t know the exact formula used to make the Jules vegan cheese product. But we do know that cashew brie is a vegan cheese substitute that is made from raw cashews that are soaked in water, then blended with salt and usually inoculated with a safe bacteria that flavors the product. The “cheese” is aged to allow the fermentation process turn the cashew mixture into something that really resembles real cheese.
Unfortunately, raw nuts can be contaminated with pathogens. Nuts may not seem like a food that is easily contaminated with bacteria because of their low water content, but they are a raw agricultural product. The nuts can be contaminated in the field from contact with animals and birds, during harvest, processing, shipping, or production. We don’t know how the Salmonella Duisburg contamination occurred in the Jules cashew brie product.
A 2021 study published in the Journal of Food Protection found that nuts are a vector for salmonellosis. For the study, a total of 3,374 samples of Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, and walnuts were collected from various retail stores and markets from September 2015 to March 2017. Of those samples, 15 were culturally confirmed as containing Salmonella. The Salmonella prevalence estimates in cashews, macadamia nuts, and pistachios were .20%, 2.52%, and 2.37% respectively.
In the current outbreak, all Jules Foods products of all expiration dates have been recalled. These products were for sale online and in stores in these states: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Texas. Patients live in California, Florida, and Tennessee. On April 22, 2021, California Officials found Salmonella bacteria in all samples of all varieties of Jule’s cashew brie collected from stores. We don’t yet know if this bacteria found in the cashew cheese matches the outbreak strain.
Symptoms of a Salmonella food poisoning infection include a fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, abdominal and stomach pain and cramps, and diarrhea that may be bloody. If you ate the recalled items and have been sick, see your doctor. you may be part of this Jules Cashew Brie Salmonella Duisburg outbreak.
If you or a loved one have been sickened with a Salmonella Duisburg infection after eating recalled Jule’s Foods cashew brie products, please contact our experienced attorneys for help at 1-888-377-8900 or 612-338-0202.
