E. coli contaminated celery from Taylor Farms Pacific in California was found to be the source of Costco's chicken salad recall last week. The Food and Drug Administration expanded the recall of food products on Tuesday.
Last November, CDC announced the E. Coli outbreak linked to chicken salad sold in Costco has infected 19 people. Cases were reported in seven states: California, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Utah, Virginia, and Washington. CDC along with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service, and public health officials in each state have examined the source of the outbreak.
Business Insider reported that source of an E. coli outbreak has been traced back to a single ingredient in Costco's rotisserie chicken salad: diced celery. FDA announced the tainted celery came from Taylor Farms Pacific of Tracy, California. The farms also supply to nearly a dozen retailers including Walmart, 7-Eleven, Safeway, Sam's Club, Target, and Starbucks.
Food recall has been initiated to items that may contain the contaminated celery. This must be done fast enough, because the E. coli strain in the celery is more dangerous than the outbreak tied to Chipotle in early November.
In its official press release, FDA further explained strain of E. coli in the contaminated celery was Escherichia coli O157:H7 and know as, "A bacterium that causes a diarrheal illness often with bloody stools," furthermore, "Although most healthy adults can recover completely within a week, some people can develop a form of kidney failure called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS)."
According to CNN Money, the food recall now includes 155,000 items, such as salad kits, vegetable trays and other prepared foods. The contaminated celery were mostly distributed in Western states, but also affected stores located in Georgia, Arkansas, Nebraska and Hawaii.
Starbucks' holiday turkey sandwiches is affected the most from food recall. More than 45,000 of its special holiday sandwiches must be recalled.
Bloomberg reported that Starbucks has pulled its holiday turkey sandwiches from 1,347 locations. According to Starbucks spokeswoman Erin Jane Schaeffer, the holiday staple sandwiches were recalled in certain locations in California, Oregon and Nevada. The cornbread used in the sandwich contained celery from Taylor Farms Pacific.
Other than 19 people who was infected from the Costco's chicken salad, there is no more case of food poisoning. This Costco's contaminated food product was the second case of the E. Coli outbreak in November. Previously, E. Coli outbreak has affected more than 40 Chipotle restaurants in Washington and Oregon, causing 42 people to become ill.
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