Two new Salmonella outbreaks identified as FDA continues investigation work on others
Article By Coral Beach Published June 24, 2022
Article Source: Two new Salmonella outbreaks identified as FDA continues investigation work on others | Food Safety News
The FDA is investigating two new outbreaks of Salmonella infections that have together sickened more than 50 people.
An outbreak of Salmonella Braenderup has sickened 40 people, but the Food and Drug Administration has not reported where the people live or what their ages are.
Also, the agency has not identified a source of the Salmonella Braenderup, but it reports it has begun traceback efforts. The outbreak announcement does not indicate what food or foods are being traced.
In another outbreak, Salmonella Paratyphi B var. L(+) tartrate+ has sickened at least 13 people, but again the FDA has not reported what states the patients live in or an age range for them.
As with the Salmonella Braenderup outbreak, the FDA has not yet identified a source for the Salmonella Paratyphi B var. L(+) tartrate+ infections. Traceback investigation has begun, according to the FDA, but the agency has not revealed what food or foods are being traced.
In an outbreak of infections from Listeria monocytogenes that was posted June 15, the FDA is reporting that traceback efforts have begun, but the agency is not reporting what food or foods are being traced. A dozen patients have been confirmed in the outbreak, but their states of residence and age range has not been revealed.
The FDA continues to warn people against eating fresh organic strawberries that they may have frozen after purchase because of an outbreak of hepatitis A infections in the United States and Canada.
“These potentially contaminated strawberries were imported from Baja California, a state in northern Mexico, and branded as FreshKampo and HEB by a common supplier; they were purchased between March 5, 2022, and April 15, 2022. The Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency are also investigating an outbreak of hepatitis A. Imported FreshKampo brand fresh organic strawberries have been identified as the likely source of the outbreak in Canada,” according to an FDA outbreak update.
“Currently, these imported fresh organic strawberries are past shelf life and are not available for purchase in stores. People who purchased these fresh organic strawberries between March 5, 2022, and April 15, 2022, and then froze those strawberries for later consumption, should not eat them. If you are unsure of what brand you purchased, when you purchased your strawberries, or where you purchased them from prior to freezing them, the strawberries should be thrown away.”
Freezing does not kill the hepatitis A virus and a number of outbreaks in recent years have been traced to various frozen berries of various types.
For the status of other outbreak investigations use the table below.
Additional outbreak information
The table below shows information about outbreak investigations being managed by FDA’s CORE Response Teams. The investigations are in a variety of stages. Some outbreaks have limited information with active investigations ongoing, others may be near completion. The table below has been abbreviated to show only active investigations.
A public health advisory will be issued for investigations that have resulted in specific, actionable steps for consumers to take to protect themselves, according to the FDA. Please direct your attention to those pages for the most up to date information on the investigation and for consumer protection information.
Outbreak and adverse event investigations that do not result in specific, actionable steps for consumers may or may not conclusively identify a source or reveal any contributing factors. Adverse event investigations rely on self-reported data. Although these reports may name a particular product, FDA will only indicate a product category in the table and will not publicly name a specific product until there is sufficient evidence to implicate that product as a cause of illnesses or adverse events. If a cause and/or contributing factors are identified that could inform future prevention, FDA commits to providing a summary of those findings.
To view the FDA page with links to specific information on individual outbreaks, please click here.