Thread: California company recalls salad mixes in Costco E. coli outbreak

California company recalls salad mixes in Costco E. coli outbreak


By Lynne Terry | The Oregonian/OregonLive

on November 26, 2015 at 4:25 PM, updated November 26, 2015 at 4:26 PM

A large California company is pulling a string of salads and other mixes that were sold nationwide, including in Oregon, following an E. coli outbreak originally traced to Costco chicken salad.

The recall by Taylor Farms was announced Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration. The items being pulled include snacks, diced celery, celery and onion mix and various mixes and trays, including with chicken, turkey or tuna, sold in Safeway, Albertsons, Costco, Walmart and other stores. Some of the items were labeled Taylor Farms; others had store labels.

The onion and celery mix was included in Costco's rotisserie chicken salad which was originally named in the outbreak. Nearly 20 people have been sickened in California, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Utah, Virginia and Washington.

Five people have been hospitalized, including two who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The bug in this outbreak, E. coli O157:H7, is especially virulent, especially for those with weak immune systems. Patients range in age from 5 to 84 years old.

The recalled items should be pitched. Anyone who develops gastrointestinal symptoms should see their health care provider. E. coli symptoms typically appear two to five days after exposure.

http://www.oregonlive.com/health/ind..._story_package

Not the first time that Taylor Farms has been identified as a source of tainted food.

FDA names Taylor Farms of Mexico as source in parasite outbreak

Taylor Farms of Mexico, a division of a California-based produce supplier whose greens go to national restaurants including Red Lobster and Olive Garden, shipped parasite-tainted salad mix that has sickened hundreds in Nebraska and Iowa, U.S. health officials said Friday.

http://www.alipac.us/f12/fda-names-t...tbreak-284905/



http://www.alipac.us/f12/teamsters-o...legals-308883/

TEAMSTERS ORGANIZING ILLEGALS
(TRACY, Calif.) – Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa led a major rally in support of 900 food processing workers at Taylor Farms, the largest supplier of fresh-cut produce in the world. More than 700 Teamsters, Taylor Farms workers and community supporters packed in front of a stage outside the company’s plant in Tracy, Calif. where low-wage workers have been organizing against poverty pay, abusive working conditions, and extreme anti-union retaliation by the company.

Moved to General Discussion - Previous health issues and links to illegal workers.

E. coli outbreak linked to Chipotle expands to six states including ...

abc7news.com-Nov 20, 2015

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE E. COLI OUTBREAK TIED TO CHIPOTLE

Signage hangs from a closed Chipotle restaurant in Portland, Ore., Monday, Nov. 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)



Tuesday, November 03, 2015

SEATTLE --
Chipotle closed 43 of its Pacific Northwest locations in response to an E. coli outbreak that health officials have connected to the Mexican food chain.

Thirty-seven people have fallen ill, and most of them had eaten at a Chipotle, officials said Tuesday. Nine people in Washington state and three in Oregon have been hospitalized, but no one has died.

At least one lawsuit has been filed by a woman who says she got sick after eating a burrito bowl at a Chipotle in Vancouver, Washington, on Oct. 21.

Here are some things to know about the outbreak:

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WHAT'S BEING DONE TO FIND THE SOURCE?

Health officials in Washington state and Oregon have been interviewing those with a confirmed case of E. coli to find out what they ate. Their blood is being tested to identify the exact strain of the illness.

They have identified the specific microorganism responsible for the E. coli outbreak, which will help officials determine the exact source of the illness, said Dr. Scott Lindquist, Washington state epidemiologist.

Food from the affected Chipotle stores also is being tested. Lindquist says officials may know by Wednesday what type of food tests positive for the same microorganism.

Health officials believe the culprit will likely be fresh food such as lettuce or tomatoes, but they won't know for sure until the testing and interviewing is complete.

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COULD PEOPLE GET SICK FROM EATING SOMEWHERE ELSE?

It's possible all the people who have gotten sick have something else in common, other than Chipotle. It's also possible the full extent of the outbreak has not been discovered.

Lindquist says he's keeping an open mind about the reach of the outbreak but is hopeful officials have stopped the spread of the illness by closing Chipotle restaurants in Washington state and the Portland, Oregon, area.

If the illness is traced to a food supplier, the business may be sending its products to other restaurants or grocery stores. Health officials will not know for sure until they find the source of the E. coli.

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HAVE OTHER FOOD-BASED HEALTH PROBLEMS BEEN TIED TO CHIPOTLE?

The chain faced a salmonella outbreak linked to tomatoes that sickened dozens of people in Minnesota beginning in August. In California, health workers said norovirus sickened nearly 100 customers and employees at a Chipotle restaurant in Simi Valley in mid-August.

Bill Marler, a Seattle food safety lawyer, says three problems within a couple of months means Chipotle isn't paying enough attention to food safety.

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WILL CHIPOTLE BE CLOSING MORE RESTAURANTS?

So far, the outbreak appears limited to Washington state and Oregon. Chipotle says there is no evidence of a link to other locations, so it won't be closing any more restaurants.

The company says it has 1,931 locations, and each restaurant brings in about $2.5 million in revenue a year on average. Chipotle's stock fell 2.5 percent to close at $624 on Monday.

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WHAT IS E. COLI AND HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE IT?

There are hundreds of E. coli and similar bacteria strains in the intestines of humans. Most are harmless, but a few can cause serious problems.

Symptoms of E. coli infection include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting.

Marisa D'Angeli, medical epidemiologist with the Washington State Department of Health, encourages anyone who has been sick with intestinal symptoms and has eaten at Chipotle since mid-October to go to the doctor and get tested.

She also said anyone with bloody diarrhea should go to the doctor whether they have eaten at Chipotle or not.

http://abc7news.com/food/e-coli-outb...ornia/1093651/