FDA Extends E. Coli Recall

By Admin on December 04, 2015 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Vegetables are usually considered nutritious. But if you are getting any number of ready-made foods at a wide range of major chains in the US right now, you are at risk. The Food and Drug Administration last week extended a recall of "Celery and Onion Diced Blend" that tested positive "for E. coli 0157:H7 in a sample taken by the Montana Department of Health."

Brace yourself. The blend appears in a wide range of products distributed in numerous stores throughout the country. It is made by Taylor Farms Pacific, Inc. of Tracy, California and is apparently very popular with the nation's big food suppliers. But eating items containing the blend could lead to food poisioning.

The Company Statement

The company statement reveals that the Celery and Onion Diced Blend tested by the state of Montana was used in a Costco Rotisserie Chicken Salad that has been linked to a multi-state E. coli 0157:H7 outbreak. Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a bacterium that causes diarrhea, often with bloody stools.

Although most healthy adults can recover completely within a week, some people can develop a form of kidney failure called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), according to Taylor Farms Pacific. HUS is most likely to occur in young children and the elderly. The condition can lead to serious kidney damage and even death.

Big Brands Impacted

The company provides an extensive list, published on the above-linked FDA website. It provides lot numbers associated with all potentially infected products. The blend is used by many national chains in a range of items.

Suppliers like Walmart, Target, Sam's Club, and Costco, are all impacted. The vegetable mix is in items designated as "trays" and "bulk kits." Supermarkets such as Safeway and Albertsons, as well as food service businesses like Starbucks, also have salads and sandwich wraps containing the recalled Celery and Onion Diced Blend.

The list is long. But if you have been buying any of these items at any of these places, beware, and take a moment to investigate.

Related Resources:

Food Recalls (FindLaw)
Food Poisoning: A Legal FAQ (FindLaw)
Butternut Squash Ravioli Recall (FindLaw's Common Law)