E. coli tied to Costco more risky than Chipotle outbreak

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed that 19 people across seven states have developed E.Coli infection after having chicken salad at Costco stores. Those people live in California (1), Colorado (4), Missouri (1), Montana (6), Utah (5), Virginia (1), and Washington state (1).

A total of 19 people across seven states were sickened by the bacteria, which experts said have proved more severe than other E.coli strains.

The exact source of the contamination in not yet certain, though Craig Wilson, vice president of food safety for the Costco Wholesale Corporation, said Wednesday the focus of the investigation has turned to a celery/onion mix used in chicken salad’s preparation.

Of the 16 people interviewed by health officials, 14 have reported eating Costco chicken salad during the week before they became ill, according to the CDC. Those affected in Utah range in age from 9 to 84.

Out of the people infected, five have already been hospitalized. Please see the Timeline for Reporting Cases of E. coli Infection for more details.

The CDC says that the number of ill persons will likely grow in the next few weeks, as they are diagnosed and the diagnoses are reported to government officials.

The outbreak is not related to a recent case involving Chipotle restaurants in which more than 40 people were sickened.

Costco previous year was linked to a salmonella outbreak caused by chicken products it sold in at least nine states.

Tauxe emphasized that the agency does not have any evidence that other Costco food was contaminated. On November 20, Costco notified the FDA that it was removing its rotisserie chicken salad product from its shelves nationwide and has stopped production until further notice.

“Fejes also indicated that Costco has been very helpful with our investigation and taken steps to protect the public by removing the product”.

Chipotle chose to voluntarily close 43 of its restaurants in OR and Washington after the outbreak. Costco has halted production of the salad and removed all product from the shelves.