Starbucks, Target among retailers affected by E. coli outbreak

“We encourage consumers to check if processed celery products they purchased were recalled”, she said.

The FDA expanded the recall of food products on Tuesday to include 155,000 items such as salad kits, vegetable trays and other prepared foods.

According to the Santa Cruz Sentinel, the sample of celery tested was processed by Taylor Farms on November 13, after the E. coli outbreak started sending people to the hospital. If you think you may have become sick from eating a recalled product, contact a healthcare provider.

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. Officials at the Taylor Farms Pacific Inc. also confirmed the information adding that they had also recalled multiple products containing celery which also impacted the Starbucks sandwiches.

The foods range from Thai-style salads to packaged dinners and wraps, and they are sold at Costco, Target, Starbucks, Walmart, Albertsons, Safeway, and other outlets, the FDA said.

Costco says it uses one supplier for vegetables in the chicken salad sold in all its USA stores.

Three days later, Taylor Farms issued a voluntary recall, and the FDA has eased the process of regaining control of the situation and stopping the outbreak. Nineteen cases of infections have already been reported in seven states. The illness reports began on October 6 and involved people from age 5 to 84, the CDC said. The kidney failure is most likely to occur in young children and the elderly. Most strains of E. coli are harmless, but some cause major problems in the human body, including abdominal cramping, diarrhea, gas, fatigue, fever, and nausea.

The Department of Public Health and Human Services says the suspected products have been removed from store shelves.

Other than 19 people who was infected from the Costco’s chicken salad, there is no more case of food poisoning. According to Starbucks spokeswoman Erin Jane Schaeffer, the holiday staple sandwiches were recalled in certain locations in California, Oregon and Nevada. The celery is found in the stuffing.

Starbucks is the latest restaurant chain to be hit with a food-safety scare.