More than 200 people get infections linked to bagged salad sold in eight states

[Omaha Steve]

Source: CNN

By Madeline Holcombe and Jen Christensen,

(CNN)Twenty three people have been hospitalized and 206 have lab-confirmed infections after eating a bagged salad mix, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The cases, which are in eight states mostly in the Midwest, are infected with Cyclospora, the CDC said.

The US Food and Drug Administration had been warning customers not to eat certain store brand garden salad mixes sold by ALDI, HY-Vee, and Jewel-Osco. The government investigation found that the mix, which is produced by Fresh Express, was also sold at Walmart stores. The mixes are under different brand names at the different stores.

At ALDI the product goes under the name Little Salad Bar Brand Garden Salad. It was sold in Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. At Hy-Vee it is all the store brand garden salad products those were sold in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. At Jewel-Osco the salad was sold in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa under the name Signature Farm Brand Garden Salad. At Walmart it is sold as the Marketside brand Classic Iceberg Salad and was sold in Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.



Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/27/health/salad-infections-cyclospora/index.html

[Lochloosa]

1. Not COVID-19. Cyclospora.

The headline should have made that clear.

[paleotn]

4. Given recent events, I agree!

That's the first thing that popped into my head...wha!!! But no worries. Just run-of-the-mill food borne pathogens. Ironic that we got into such a tize about e-coli back in the day. Pretty far down on the list of worries today.

[hlthe2b]

5. Definitely... Cyclospora is a parasitic organism not typically killed by chlorine but spread

through fecal-oral contamination. Like Cryptosporidium, Giardia, and other similar organisms, the failure to provide hygenic facilities for field workers (portapotties and hand-washing) has made this a continuing if sporadic issue.

All these protozoa can cause chronic diarrhea but rarely fatal unless severely immune-compromised. The first two respond well to trimethoprim-sulfa (antibiotic), the latter, metronidazole-- the same drugs used to treat in your pets.

[Rorey]

11. That just infuriates me.

Not providing facilities for workers should carry a big fine.

Whenever somebody does work on my property, the first thing I tell them is where there's a bathroom they can use, and also where they can get water. At a house I lived in once, I looked out my window and saw a worker peeing on the side of my neighbor's house. That is not okay.

[marble falls]

12. Almost ALL of these outbreaks are caused by this. Its criminal. They can dump tons of ...

fertilizer, insecticides on crops but they can't pull a portapotty and fifty gallons of handwashing water and hand sanitizer onto a field? Its not just the sanitation aspect, but there's a dignity aspect of not forcing people to poop in a field.

This issue has made me angry since I was a kid in Akron, Ohio and I worked three summers on a "muck" farm pulling onions, beets and radishes, cutting lettuce and spinach. No place to go but in the field or if we were at the end of a row, the weeds.

[marble falls]

8. First question I had reading the headline.

[Kali]

2. so glad I gave up vegetable matter years ago

do you know what vegetables are grown in? dirt! do you know how much water is used? and the cost of transporting!

[robbob]

20. What do you eat?

[Kali]

21. really?

[robbob]

24. Really!

Sorry, I kept my question short. I mean, you don’t eat vegetables at all? Or were you joking? I mean, at first I thought maybe you were joking (“it’s grown in dirt”!), but then you raised a good point about transportation costs and waste (here in Canada so much produce in the grocery is being shipped from California and Mexico), so that led to my question.

[Kali]

25. It was informed sarcasm

Every time there is any kind of negative article about meat or meat production there are always a few self righteous comments about not eating meat. As if people who do somehow deserve to get sick. As if the dietary choices that the non-meat eaters make are perfect and somehow consequence-free.

[robbob]

27. Ok thanks!

Like I said, it seemed like a joke/sarcasm, except for 3 points raised: deadly bacteria in the food chain (as per the op), water waste and excessive transportation costs (environmental and otherwise).

Sorry if I’m a bit slow; there are lots of radical and varying opinions on this site, I thought maybe you were on an all-Cheatos diet or something! 😁

[Kali]

28. mmmm cheetos

[totodeinhere]

22. I think you have it backward.

Producing meat is much more harmful to the environment.

[Kali]

23. depends on how either are done

life isn't so simple, sorry.

[Rorey]

3. Wouldn't you know it????

I just had salad for breakfast!

I'm sure it was fine. I'm in Colorado.

I always wash my salad mix in a solution of water and vinegar, then rinse at least three times.

Editing to add: I just read it's unlikely to wash off.

[marybourg]

6. Well, the point of vinegar is not to "wash off",

but to change the pH (acid/alkalinity) so that the bacteria is not in the optimal survival environment. That and some vigorous swishing might dislodge the bacteria. I don’t know if it works in this situation, but it’s probably a good precaution.

[Rorey]

9. I really should have said that I soak it

I put the salad mix in a colander in a bowl, pour vinegar over it (I just glug it in) and then fill with water and let it soak for at least 15 minutes. Maybe I'm just deluding myself, but I feel better about it. After rinsing and draining, I put it in a bowl with a paper towel over it and put on a tight-fitting lid, then invert it and let it crisp up in the fridge for a few hours. IMO, it improves the quality greatly.

[yaesu]

15. sounds like a good idea to me. nt

[marybourg]

19. Sounds like a good routine.

[forgotmylogin]

7. +1 Vinegar is a great general produce wash.

I keep some in a spray bottle and use it on anything with exposed edible surfaces like apples, carrots, and mushrooms.

[Rorey]

10. That's what I always use.

Vinegar is great for all kinds of things, as I'm sure you know.

[littlemissmartypants]

30. Get idea! I'm going to do that. Thanks for sharing it. ❤ nt

[Zambero]

14. I thoroughly rinse these bagged products

Even the "triple washed" ones. Package assurances aside, there's only one way to make sure it's safe to consume.

[ancianita]

16. Robots are becoming the answer. Since 2015, they plant, water, harvest leafy green crops.

Of course, not all farms use them, but Big Ag does.

[keithbvadu2]

17. Is it fresh?

?quality=70&strip=all&w=782

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

18. Pre-packaged salad greens have been an ongoing source for illness

for decades now.

It's vastly cheaper to purchase the separate veggies you want in your salad and make your own.

[Skittles]

26. TOSS THAT SALAD!

yes INDEED

[Kali]

29. what, are you some kind of TOSSER???!!!

[littlemissmartypants]

31. Ha!Ha! Love the double meaning. nt ❤

[Skittles]

32. some time ago there was a story on CNN about contaminated bagged salads

the byline, in BIG words was TOSS THAT SALAD!

I just imagined the folk in the control room cracking up

[littlemissmartypants]

33. Ha!