Prepackaged salad mix has been eyed as the potential culprit in an outbreak of cyclospora, an intestinal illness tied to a rare type of parasite, that has impacted hundreds of individuals across multiple states, says CBS news on July 30.
As of July 29, the bug has spread to 372 people in 16 states, the largest focus of cases have been reported in Iowa. Cases have been discovered in at least 16 states: Iowa, Illinois, Connecticut, Nebraska, Florida, Wisconsin, Missouri, Arkansas, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Georgia, Kansas and Ohio.
Steven Mandernach, chief of the Food and Consumer Safety Bureau of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals said, "The evidence points to a salad mix containing iceberg and romaine lettuce, as well as carrots and red cabbage as the source of the outbreak reported in Iowa and Nebraska."
The Iowa Department of Public Health issued a statement instigating "prepackaged salad mix as the source of the outbreak." Investigators concluded that about 80 percent of the cases had been open to this same type of prepackaged salad mix.
The Nebraska alert observed that it "came through national distribution channels" and that "locally grown produce is not part of this outbreak."
The brand name of the salad was not released to the public but the bagged salad was taken off the market. The salad mix is no longer in Iowa's food supply chain, the health department said.
"FDA will continue to work with its federal, state and local partners in the investigation to determine whether this conclusion applies to the increased number of cases of cyclosporiasis in other states," the agency said in a statement. "The goal will be to combine information collected from other affected states with that provided by the state health authorities in Iowa to identify a specific food item linked to the illnesses."
"This is labor intensive and painstaking work, requiring the collection, review and analysis of hundreds and at times thousands of invoices and shipping documents," the FDA said.
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