Cases of E.Coli Infection Linked to Costco Chicken Salad

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.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said five people had been hospitalized and two developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure.

In a report by BBC, incidents of the 2015 E. Coli outbreak have been reported in USA states Missouri, Virginia, Washington, Utah, California, Utah and Colorado having the most reports. The CDC says the cases date back to October 6 and recommends throwing out the chicken salad if purchased on or before November 20-regardless if customers have shown symptoms.

State health officials, particularly those in Utah, discovered the outbreak and helped find links between the 19 illnesses in seven states, Tauxe said.

If you have any Costco chicken salad at home, check the label before you eat it.

Five of those people have been hospitalized, including two with kidney failure. The contaminated chicken was supplied to Costco by California-based Foster Poultry Farms.

To learn about how to avoid food-borne illnesses caused by bacteria like E. coli, check out “7 Keys to Dodging Deadly Bacteria That Lurk in Your Food”. People who have eaten it and feel ill should talk to a health care provider.

Wilson said there is no problem with the retailer’s rotisserie chicken, which it continues to sell.

Health officials say the incubation period is three to seven days from the time of exposure. DNA “fingerprinting” is performed on E. coli bacteria isolated from ill people by using a technique called pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, or PFGE.

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

Costco has already pulled the chicken salad from the shelves. Watery diarrhea, loss of appetite, fatigue, fever, abdominal cramps and diarrhea with blood are early symptoms of E. coli.